Sorely Mistaken
by CloudSpires1295
Summary: A passionate Summer night on the beach creates innumerable problems for young Marron as she embarks on the most important school year of all, burdened by an unexpected pregnancy and struggling to find the support she needs in the people she thought would be the first to have her back, no matter the circumstances. Cannon couples, UxM, GtxBr, TxP. Rated M for mature content.
1. Prologue

**Alright, you got me. I'm going to write a prologue for the UxM teen pregnancy drabble and see how you like it, and if it gets good reception, then I'll continue with the fic. Without further ado, the prologue to **_**Sorely Mistaken**_**. Partially inspired by **_**Starfire Grace's **_**TxP teen pregnancy fic, **_**Beauty from Ashes**_**.**

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><p><em>What is that? Why is it so bright?<em>

Marron frowned, screwing her face up and clenching her eyes even more tightly shut as the bright light of the sun, rising over the horizon, assaulted her sensitive eyes through her lids. She groaned irritably and rolled onto her stomach, trying to get more comfortable. Instead of getting more comfortable, the daughter of Krillin got a face full of warm, loose sand.

_Sand? What… did I fall asleep outside again?_

As Marron rolled onto her back to sit up properly, she felt a hot, large, distinctly _masculine_ hand slide against the bare skin of her lower back. The petite blonde gave a small squeak and sat up, quick as lightning, blinking the sleep from her eyes so she could see better. She was lying in a small cove, surrounded by a thicket of tropical trees and bushes with hibiscus blossoms growing on them. The surf was starting to come in, and the rising sunlight reflected off of the ocean waves, slightly blinding her.

Save for a simple blue throw blanket strewn over her body, and the mysterious male body lying beside her, the blonde seventeen year-old was naked. Suddenly recalling the male presence, Marron glanced over to her right, fearing the worst, but only found the deeply tanned, chiseled planes of her boyfriend Uub's face, relaxed in gentle slumber. Despite the curious situation, she couldn't help but smile, he looked so handsome when he was sleeping.

As if he felt her gaze, Uub's lids twitched a bit before sliding up to reveal the cocoa colored orbs she loved so much. A small smile formed on his lips as he looked up at her, "Morning…"

"Morning," Marron whispered in response, "what happened last night?"

"I… uh," Uub raised the portion of the blanket that was lying over his manly bit, "oh shit…"

"Did we…" the blonde trailed off, unsure of whether or not she wanted to finish that sentence. Saying it would only make it seem more real. Now that she was faced with undeniable proof, she could feel a deep kind of ache in her nether regions that was not exactly normal. It wasn't wholly painful, it was just a dull throb between her legs that completely gave it all away.

She'd had sex. _Sex_. With _Uub_. She had _sex_ with _Uub_.

"Calm down," Uub picked up something shiny, silver, and square in shape, "condom wrapper."

"Is that even yours?" Marron asked blankly, still processing the events that had, apparently, taken place last night, "what… why do you even keep condoms on you at all?"

"In case we ever… you know," the brown haired former Majin waved his hands, "get in the mood."

"Oh kami," she whispered, hugging herself, "we did it. We did _it_. If Bra knew… I'd never hear the end of it," the blonde teenager looked around, "where are our clothes?" The daughter of Krillin spotted a strewn pile of cloth near her foot and, hugging the blanket to her chest, sat up to grab it. There was a pink dress and a dark green bikini, a pair of dark green board shorts, a black muscle shirt, two pairs of sandals, and her purse.

Her _purse_.

Within which was her _phone_.

Which her parents probably _called_.

Wondering where she was last night.

"Oh kami, kami, kami," Marron dug through the bag, unearthing her phone. The device was off, and the frantic girl quickly pressed down on the power button, waiting impatiently for it to turn on again. Her other hand raked through her hair, leaving the blanket to fall away on the left side, revealing one of her modestly sized breasts.

"_Twenty-seven_ missed calls," Marron flinched as she examined the screen, "almost _eighty_ text messages. Oh kami, my parents are going to _kill_ me!" She opened one from Pan, frowning at its contents.

'_Where the heck did you and Uub go last night? You guys vanished into thin air or something! Call me when you get this text, girly!_'

She bit her lip and opened another one from Bra.

'_Call me when you and Uub come up for air! Way to go all Houdini on us, Maz! Have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do!_'

"What were we doing last night?" Marron questioned her boyfriend, "other than the obvious… _obviously_."

"We had a triple date at some restaurant on the sea wall," Uub gestured in the general direction of the sea wall, "and then I suggested that you and I go for a walk on the beach. You said no at first, and then, when the others weren't looking, you dragged me off to the beach."

"_I'm a seafood addict," Pan announced, leaning into Trunks' side as they walked along the sidewalk, "it's pretty much official. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have seafood in my life."_

"_Probably die," Bra chimed in, "because it's too good to live without." She giggled as Goten wrapped an arm around her slim waist, leaning up on the tips of her toes to kiss his jaw._

_Marron rolled her eyes at her two friends, contently following behind them, holding hands with Uub as the three couples walked along. The former Majin raised her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the smooth skin and chuckling when the affectionate action caused a rush of pink blush to flood his girlfriend's round cheeks. A shy smile formed on her lips, and she pecked his cheek chastely._

"_Hey," he murmured, "you want to go walk down the beach. It'll be nice to watch the sunset."_

"_We should stay with the others, Uub," the blonde girl responded softly, "they invited us along, it'd be rude to just up and leave."_

"_If you're sure," Uub kissed her cheek and pulled her hand to make her walk a bit faster so they could keep pace with the others, who were now approaching a stoplight, waiting patiently for the walk sign to flick on. Marron noticed that the walk light to the right, leading over to the side of the street where the beach was located, was on, and was suddenly re-thinking her choice to stay with the others._

"_Uub," she whispered, gesturing towards the crosswalk, "do you want to?" He raised a brow at her, "you changed your mind that quick?"_

_The blonde nodded, giggling jubilantly, "come on," and tugged at his hand. The pair glanced back at their friends, seeing that they were too preoccupied with their significant others to notice them leaving. With a shared laugh, the couple grabbed hands and sprinted across the crosswalk and down the steps that brought them down from street level to sea level._

_Uub and Marron began to run across the sand, laughing and glancing over their shoulders to make sure the others hadn't noticed their departure. The former Majin waved his hand, and there was a brief glow of yellow ki around the pair before it faded away. Marron raised a brow, "what did you just do?"_

"_Made us some privacy," Uub responded, "ki shield."_

"_Oh, how clever," the blonde teen giggled, "planning on something special to happen?"_

"_No," he shrugged, "I just want to spend some time with my girl."_

"I remember that," Marron murmured, "Uub," she touched his face, "kami… Did you mean for us to stay out all night?"

"No," Uub responded, "I guess we… fell asleep afterwards. I never dropped the ki shield, that's probably why everyone started calling and texting us." He grabbed his shorts and dug into the pocket for his own phone, "yeah, my Mom called me thirty times."

Marron grabbed her clothing and began wiggling to get her bikini bottoms on while staying underneath the blanket. Uub slipped into his shorts under the blanket, and then left the blanket to his girlfriend while he put his shirt back on. The blonde girl grabbed her swimsuit top and slipped it back on before slipping her dress on over it. The pair stood, brushing the sand off of their legs as they did so.

"Uub," she whispered, "this isn't going to happen again. Not for a while, at least."

"I understand," he responded soothingly, "I'm sorry."

"It's both our faults, babe," Marron murmured, "so I'm sorry, too." They shared a hug and a soft, chaste kiss before parting and wandering to the edge of the thicket that met with the surf. Holding onto their sandals, the couple walked through the warm shallows until they were completely around the thick greenery, and then began making the long trek back up to the street.

"_It's so peaceful here," Marron whispered as they entered the small, cozy cove, surrounded on all sides by thick, tropical plants, "I can't even hear the cars on the street from here."_

"_That's the point, babe," Uub uncapsulated a blanket and a bottle of champagne, "come on, it's the perfect spot to watch the sun go down." The daughter of Juuhachi raised a brow at the champagne, "champagne? Uub, I'm not even old enough to drink."_

"_Who said I was going to tell anyone?" he questioned her, gently taking her hand to help her sit on the blanket, "this is between you and me, no one else. Trunks picked this out especially for you, but I don't think he knew I was planning on ditching him to use it. It's pink, your favorite color."_

"_Haha, very funny," Marron rolled her eyes as Uub uncapsulated two crystal flutes to hold the bubbly rose colored liquid, "might as well put it to good use then. Let's see what it tastes like." She grabbed one of the flutes and waited for Uub to pop open the bubbly. He quickly uncorked the bottle and, once the mist stopped flowing out, filled his Maz-chan's flute three-fourths of the way._

"_Thank you," she took a timid sip of the pink, bubbly concoction while Uub poured his own glass, "wow… I wasn't expecting it to be so sweet. It's not overwhelmingly sweet, though. Very crisp and bubbly. Refreshing."_

"_Good to know," Uub filled his own flute and took a small sip, "Mmm," he hummed, "not bad. I guess Trunks knew what he was doing after all."_

"_Funny how he knows how to pick out alcoholic beverages, but he can't get drunk unless he drinks a city's worth of alcohol, and even then, it'd only be a small buzz." Marron snorted, snuggling under her boyfriend's arm to watch the sun roll down._

_More glasses of champagne were drunk as the sun approached the horizon, the deep orange rays of light reflecting off of the waves. The young Chestnut found that she couldn't handle her alcohol very well._

_Marron felt warm and fuzzy, and the edges of her vision took on a slight glow as she finished her… how many glasses had she had already? The bubbly liquid was so good, and the sensation of Uub's lips on her neck felt even better._

"_Mmm," she cooed, "Uub… your mouth feels so good."_

"_I bet," he responded, brushing her long, soft hair off of her neck to get a better angle on her sensitive skin, "you like that, Maz?"_

"_Yeah…"_

_The drunken pair found themselves in a clumsy, passionate embrace as they fell back on the blanket, kissing and nibbling away at each other's lips, throats, and ears. Marron gave a soft cry as the former Majin's hand slipped underneath her dress and slid the seat of her bikini bottom to the side to delve in her virginal folds._

"_Oh my kamicollo, Uub…" the blonde snagged the hair at the back of his head with one hand, and began palming her breasts with the other. Uub got the hint and removed his hand from her nethers, smirking at the lingering wetness there, and began working Marron's dress off of her supple body, practically salivating over the pale, creamy skin he unearthed…_

"No more champagne," Marron mumbled under her breath, and Uub glanced back at her, "what was that, Maz?"

"The champagne did us in," the blonde spoke louder, "and it made it quite clear that I can't handle my alcohol." A slight laugh slipped out of her lips as they made their way up the steps and onto the sidewalk running along the sea wall.

"I'll see you… uh, later?" Uub's statement came out more like a question, and the blonde teen bit her lip gingerly, "Um… yeah, I'll uh… I'll give you a call whenever… you know… I feel up to it."

"Maz…"

"No," she shook her head, "I need some time to think about this. I'll call you when I get my head cleared and I'm ready to talk, okay?"

"I understand," the former Majin kissed her forehead lovingly, "take all the time you need. I'll be waiting for you, alright?" Marron nodded and kissed his cheek, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Quicker than the untrained human eye could follow, the eldest Majuubi burst into flight. Marron watched he disappeared from sight, and then sighed before making her own untraceable departure from the sidewalk before anyone could notice her.

When the Majin fusion was disposing of the used condom, he'd failed to notice a tiny, microscopic hole in the contraceptive. It wasn't big enough for an obvious leakage, but large enough for a few of his "little swimmers" to make their way into the fertile environment that Marron's uterus had formed, seeing as she was in the midst of her ovulation cycle. Just a month away from the beginning of her senior year, this was, no doubt, bound to become the hardest year of her life.

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><p><strong>I kept it simple, a few flashbacks to explain what happened there. Next chapter will skip ahead to August, meaning that school's starting soon. I've got a good feeling about this one, guys. More to come soon enough!<strong>

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


	2. Fresh Start

**Welcome to **_**Sorely Mistaken**_**! This chapter will start in August, a month before the events of the vignette I posted took place. Marron's starting to have a few symptoms, not very many, just a few. Let's get on with, shall we?**

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><p>"Marron?" Juuhachi pushed the door to her daughter's bedroom open, peeking in, "Marron, dear, it's time to get up. Your first day of senior year is today."<p>

A mussed head of blonde hair peeked out from underneath the multicolored paisley patterned comforter. There was some shifting, and then a flushed face peered out at her mother, "Huh?"

"School, dear," the android chuckled, shaking her head at her sleepy daughter, "today's your first day. Pan said she'd be coming out to pick you up in a half hour, so you need to hurry up and get in the shower."

"Oh!" The girl gasped, throwing the sheets off in her haste to get to her closet and rummage through it, "what am I going to wear? I didn't even pick anything out last night!"

The android rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, "breakfast is ready when you're done in the shower," and left the room.

Marron continued to look through her clothing, searching for a proper outfit to wear, something that screamed '_senior_'. She finally, after much debate, settled on a three quarter sleeved white shirt, the sleeves of which were made out of lace, some light wash skinny jeans with a slightly distressed look to them, and a pair of pewter grey ankle boots with a slight platform and a low, chunky heel.

Carefully laying the clothing on the bed, the blonde girl went through the drawers of her bureau and grabbed one of her comfy racer back bras and pair of cheekster panties, both matching dark grey with silvery-black lace, and headed into her small personal bathroom to take a quick shower. As she placed the under garments on the counter and reached for her shower cap, she noticed an unopened box of tampons sitting next to the sink and frowned.

_Did I skip? I hardly ever skip_...

Confused, she went back into her bedroom to regard the little calendar on her bedside table, the one she reserved for keeping track of Aunt Flo's coming and going. At this point, she had her predictions of the start and end of her menstruation cycles down to a tee but, as she flipped back to July to check for the last day of her last cycle, she was bombarded by memories of waking up in that little cove next to Uub, both of them bare as the day they were born.

_Uub used a condom, _she rationed, _I saw the wrapper and I saw him getting rid of it_. A voice at the back of her head spoke in a snide voice, '_but condoms can break or have holes… just because he used a condom doesn't mean it worked._'

_No_, Marron shook her head, _I've been stressing myself out, thinking about that. The stress made me skip. That's all_. With that, she returned to the bathroom and turned the shower on hot to clear her head. As the steam began to fill the room, the teen began to remove her pajamas and put her shower cap. She gathered her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash from the cabinet between the sink and the shower.

The moment she stepped into the shower, Marron placed the bottles she held on the small shelf that ran along the top of the shower, save for the body wash, and looped her pouf from over the shower head, pouring a generous amount of the cherry blossom scented liquid onto it. She replaced the bottle and let the hot, steaming water run over the pouf before scrubbing her upper body, building up suds.

"_We have traveled miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea,_" she sang softly to herself as she scrubbed, "_as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be. I would wait forever, exalted in the scene. As long as I am with you, my heart continues to beat._"

"_With every step we take, Kyoto to the Bay, strolling so casually,_" she smiled, "_we're different and the same; get you another name. Switch out the batteries._"

As the steam filled the room, the Chestnut girl frowned as her vision began to pitch ever so slightly, and her head began to swim, like she was on the verge of fainting. Her head felt fuzzy and light, the longer she stayed in the shower, but she shrugged it off, with difficulty, and continued her ballad, "_if you gave me a chance, I would take it. It's a shot in the dark, but I'll make it. Know with all of your heart, you can't shake me…_"

Marron's legs began to shake violently, causing her to stumble forward, into the wall under the shower head, black spots popping in her vision. Startled, she quickly rinsed the suds off and turned the water off, stepping out onto the bath rug on shaky legs. Clinging to the counter, the blonde girl guided herself to the door and opened it, letting the cool air from her bedroom flow into the small, steam-filled bathroom.

_Maybe I shouldn't take such hot showers,_ she thought confusedly, _I don't know what that was, but I almost fainted in the tub_. Wondering why hot showers were affecting her differently all of a sudden, the daughter of Krillin settled on a cooler setting and finished her shower and got her hair washed and clean.

*after her shower*

Marron styled her wavy blonde hair in her trademark pig tails, hanging down over both of her ears to rest just below her shoulders. She finished the ensemble she'd chosen with a light grey hooded cardigan, her light blue rucksack, and a necklace made out of antique looking grey metal links with a large circular pendant hanging from it. The pendant was decorated with pearls and crystals. With a pair of large pearl studs, and some light make up, she was satisfied with her first-day-back look.

_I've got fifteen minutes,_ she rationed with a glance at her alarm clock, _better hurry up and eat before Pan gets here_. With that thought, she hurried down the stairs and to the kitchen, where her father was seated at the table, reading the newspaper, Master Roshi and Oolong were leering at her mother's backside, and her mother, steadfastly ignoring the two lechers, was cooking breakfast at the stove top.

"Good morning, Poppa," Marron chirped, leaning down to kiss her father's cheek, "how are you?"

"Good morning to you, too, Angel," Krillin chuckled and kissed her cheek in return, "I'm fine, how about you?"

"Here you go, dear," Juu turned away from the stove, holding a plate of eggs with some cheese sprinkled on top, three slices of bacon, a few sausage links, and a crispy pile of hashbrowns, "breakfast."

"Thanks, Mom," the blonde girl took the plate and took a seat at the table, beginning to work her way through the meal, "it's really good."

Juuhachi rolled her eyes, "don't talk with your mouth full, dear," and headed out of the kitchen, affectionately running her hand over the top of Krillin's partially bald head. The former monk caught her hand and kissed the back of it before she could leave, shooting her a wink. The android gave a small smile at this action and squeezed his hand before taking her leave. Master Roshi and Oolong watched her go, eyes glued to her backside as it swayed with every single step.

"Grandpa Roshi, are you ever going to stop perving on my mom?" Marron inquired softly as she took a sip of orange juice, "I know, it's been years and we're all used to it, but it _does_ get old, sometimes."

"_Ha_," Krillin chortled, "get it, Roshi? Gets '_old_'?"

"Same old corny Krillin," Oolong rolled his eyes skyward, "don't quit your day job, Baldy."

The playful banter went on for a while, and Marron had just washed the last of her breakfast down with the last bit of OJ in her glass, when the sound of a hover car approaching the island filled the room. The blonde jumped up, "that's Pan," she kissed her father on the cheek, "I'll see you after school, Poppa."

"Alright, sweet pea," he kissed her forehead, "have a good day at school!"

"I will," she grabbed one of the straps of her rucksack and tossed the bag haphazardly over one shoulder, placed her dirty dishes in the sink, and hurried out of the kitchen and down the hall to the front door, throwing it open just as Pan's hover car came in for a landing on the beach, kicking up small gusts of sand. Marron shut the door and waved eagerly as she approached.

The cheerful Son was sporting shorter hair this year, just a bit longer than her mother's was when she was in high school. Her ends, rather than being spiked, were more curly and dyed with a very dark shade of blue, barely discernable from the glossy ebony that was her original hair color. Her bob was combed over to the right side, leaving her left ear bare to show off the three cartilage piercings she'd gotten earlier in the Summer, as well as the two piercings in her lobe.

"Cute outfit, chica," Pan greeted happily as Marron slid into the passenger seat, "I see letting Bra help with your school shopping did wonders for you."

"I could say the same about you, missy," the blonde girl responded, throwing her bag in the backseat and buckling herself in, "come on, we're burning daylight. Let's get this last year of hell over with."

Pan was dressed in a midnight blue long sleeved top with a light grey vest, white skinny jeans with rips at the knees, and a pair of shiny black military boots with a rather impressive, though modest, chunky heel. The three cartilage piercings were filled with a single, swirling piece of metal, made to frame the shell of the Son's ear. The metal was carved to look scaly, like a dragon, and the bottom part of the rod tapered into a serpent's tail, while the top formed into a tiny serpent's head with crystals for eyes. A pair of crystal studs was filling the holes in her lobe. Her makeup was simple, black liquid eyeliner and mascara, and bright red lip gloss.

"You don't have to tell me twice," the daughter of Gohan revved the engine and the car lifted off of the sandy shores before shooting off over the ocean, headed for Satan City, "let's do this."

*at school*

Pan parked her new hover car, painted a bright orange, in a spot close to the entrance, right next to a familiar, cherry red hover car with a dropped top. Sitting in the car was the last member of the trio, the blue haired heiress known by all as Bra Briefs, daughter of the great Bulma Briefs. The bluenette was rocking a shorter haircut as well, a simple, shoulder length bob that had been curled with a large curling iron and combed out into large waves.

"Hey, guys!" Bra squealed, in the midst of applying her makeup, "about time you showed up."

"Well, it takes a while to get here from Kame Island, so you can excuse our lateness, your Highness," Pan drawled, sarcastically bowing to her friend, "give us a break, Princess."

"Haha, no," the saiyan royal put her top back up and climbed out of the car, "well, well, well, look who's all fashion forward all of a sudden."

The Briefs girl was wearing a lavender long sleeve midriff bearing shirt, a dark purple tank top underneath, some dark wash capris with cuffs, and a pair of stylish lavender high top sneakers with a hidden heel. Her backpack of choice was a black hobo bag, slung over one shoulder with a long strap, so the bag hung near her knees. Her makeup consisted of purple eye shadow, black liquid liner, mascara, a slight bit of pink rouge to her cheeks, and pale pink lip-gloss with a hint of shimmer.

"You're the one who went all '_fashion Nazi dictator_' on us when we went shopping, so why are you so surprised?" Pan dug into her bag, a cross body bag that was white and patterned with the names of different cities across the world in black, blocked lettering, "I guess I could add my own touch, though." She unearthed a pair of black fingerless gloves and slipped them onto her hands, smiling at the familiarity.

"You can't ever go without those things," Marron giggled, "come on, guys, let's go see where our first classes are." Bra, who was rolling her eyes at Pan, nodded, smiling eagerly, "I hope we got the same first period like we did last year."

"After that hissy fit you threw at the end of junior year to make sure that we did, I'm pretty sure they weren't stupid enough not to," the Son chortled, "come on, ladies, let's go check out the list before all the underclassmen get to it."

"We're _seniors_, girls," Bra flipped her wavy hair over one shoulder, "this is our big year, there's no room for screw-ups. We do it right the first time, okay?"

"Duh," Pan snorted, "my grandma would _murder_ me happily if I somehow failed senior year."

"Maz," the bluenette sidled up to her blonde friend as they crossed the parking lot, "what's going on with you and Uub? You guys haven't gone out with us and the guys in _ages_."

"Bra, it's only been a month since they went all _hocus pocus_ on us," Pan sniggered, "normal couples give each other space all the time. You would notice that if you didn't try to drag us on triple dates whenever the opportunity arose."

"Uub and I are taking a break," Marron responded softly, "there are a few things that I need to think about that are causing a bit of trouble." Her mind drifted back to the little calendar on her bedside table, and she inwardly blanched, shoving the thought away.

"Oh. My. Kami," the blue haired heiress grabbed her friend's hand, "did he… did he ask the _big question_?"

"Bra, why would Uub ask her to marry him right now?" Pan furrowed her brows in confusion, "she's still in high school for crap's sake."

"Not that one, Pan," Bra shot back, "my Kami, you Sons can be so dense sometimes. The _other_ big question. You know… the _S-E-X_ one."

"_Oh_," the Son nodded once, and then raised a brow at Marron, "did he? Is he pressuring you? If he is, I'll kick his ass."

"Oh my Dende, you two," the blonde teenager rolled her eyes, exasperated, "he did _not_ ask me about," she looked around, suddenly conscious about their surroundings, "about _sex_, good Kami," she hit both of the saiyan girls on the arm, "Uub's a wonderful boyfriend, he'd never pressure me to do anything I wouldn't want to do." _Under the influence of alcohol, however_...

"… you hesitated."

"_Bra,_" Pan shoved her blue haired friend gently, "quit being so nosy. If she doesn't want to talk about it, then leave it alone. What goes on between her and Uub is none of your business unless it directly affects you. If you didn't look just like Aunt Bulma, there'd still be no mistaking who your mom is."

"Hmph," the bluenette Princess crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm just curious. I can't remember the last time you two spent a month apart, Maz," she turned her crystalline gaze back to Marron, "a week or so, yeah, but a _month_? A _whole_ month."

The blonde girl suddenly felt very compelled to tell her friends about the events of the past month, and opened her mouth, "actually… you guys, something _did_ happen last month."

"Why didn't you tell us—"

"Well, if it isn't the two '_holier-than-thou_' heiresses and their personal assistant/tag-a-long." Maori Peechum, the resident grade A bitch of OSH, drawled as she came up behind the trio, trailed by the rest of her cheerleading squad of sycophants, "what's gone wrong on your perfect little worlds this time?"

"Why don't you mind your business and focus which football player you're going to suck off after practice this afternoon?" Pan responded in an overly perky voice, a plastic smile plastered on her cheeks, "you know, the usual things that you can manage to focus on without giving yourself an aneurysm from using your brain too much?"

"Bite me, Son." Maori snapped in response, and Pan snorted, "and get Syphilis? No, thank you. The elites of society are having a conversation, why don't you run along and learn a new cheer or sex position… or _both_," she shrugged, "those _are_ the only two things you can multitask at."

"You think you're _so_ clever, don't you?" the angry cheer captain snarled, "with your little comebacks and your jokes. Get a life, Son."

"I was just living my life until you so rudely stumbled upon us and interrupted it. It's not my fault that you think I don't have a life because I _always_ seem to know exactly how to shut you up and piss you off," the daughter of Gohan shrugged, "you make it too easy."

That did it. Maori turned on her heel and left, trailed by her posse, and Bra sighed, "what a great start to senior year, eh?" Pan nodded once, "the best way. What were you saying, Maz?"

"Uh, nothing," Marron shook her head, "it wasn't important."

"You said something did happen," Bra insisted, and the blonde girl bit her lip, "it's not important, don't worry about it. Uub and I'll get to the bottom of it soon enough. No big deal." _Except for the fact that I lost my virginity before the both of you and I can barely remember it because I was drunk off my ass_… _Champagne doesn't even have that much alcohol in it_… _Shows how well I can handle alcohol…_

"Well," Pan murmured, "if you're sure. I checked the list; we've all got Mrs. Coffey for first period. Honors trigonometry."

"Sounds good," Marron nodded once, and then frowned as her stomach gurgled in an odd way, followed by a small burst of nausea. It was fairly brief, only a few seconds, but her gag reflex twitched somewhat, and she reached up to cover her mouth on reflex, hunching ever so slightly.

Pan raised a brow, "what's wrong with your stomach, Maz-chan? That sounded weird…"

"Uh, I don't know," she shrugged, "just got a little nauseated."

"It's senior year jitters, sweet heart," Bra grasped her hand, "see? You're fine. Now, come on, let's head down to her room, we've got ten minutes until the bell rings for class to start."

*Trigonometry*

"Welcome to Honors Trigonometry," Audrey Coffey, a pleasant, middle-aged woman with long auburn hair, naturally curly, and bright aquamarine eyes behind a pair of horn rimmed glasses, spoke pleasantly to the small group of students before her, "and, to some, welcome to the most important public school year of your life. We won't be doing any classwork just yet," she grabbed a small stack of papers off of her desk, "today we're going to focus on getting to know each other, your supply lists, and, of course, your schedules. Seniors," she held up a stack of envelopes, "you already came in early to take ID pictures, and I have those ready. Let's start with an ice breaker."

"Sweet," Pan whispered, "no work on day one. That means we'll only have six classes worth of homework, at the most that is."

"Mrs. C is cool like that," Bra responded, "that's what I heard about her last year. We did a crap load of doubling up in the last three years, you should have mostly electives anyway."

"I wouldn't even be taking this class if Grandma Chichi hadn't found out I was planning on doing all electives." The Son grimaced, "she wanted me to do all core subjects instead, but I managed to weasel out of it. This is my only core class."

"Mine, too," Marron jumped in, "did you guys pick Dance as one of your electives?"

"Pan's amazing at it, I don't know why she didn't pick it," the bluenette drawled, nudging her friend, "did you pick Cooking, Maz?"

"I actually _did_ put Dance on my selection sheet, thank you," Pan blushed, "and I'm not even that great. I picked Cooking."

"Ladies, here are your schedules, the ice breaker, and your ID badges," Mrs. Coffey appeared, placing the envelope with the ID card, the smaller sheet with their schedule, and the full sized sheet with the ice breaker on their desks in turn, "start filling out the ice breaker, and keep your voices down to a whisper, please."

"Yes, ma'am," the girls chorused, and their teacher moved on to the other students. Pan hastily unfolded her schedule and examined it closely, "Dance is second, Creative Writing is third, Cooking's fourth, right before lunch, Free Draw IV is fifth, and my sixth and seventh are Off Campus, meaning I'm heading out early."

"Um," Marron regarded her schedule, "we'll have Dance and Cooking and Off Campus together, but I've got Free Draw IV third and Plant Study fifth."

"I've got sixth and seventh Off Campus," Bra began, "so crisis averted, Dance is second, Interior Design is third, Cooking's fourth, whew," she breathed a sigh of relief, "and my fifth is Sewing."

"We got all the stuff we wanted together," Pan grinned, "Dance, Cooking, and Off Campus. And Trig. I wanted Free Draw with you, but I think five classes is more than enough."

"What do you even do in Free Draw? It sounds fairly easy." Bra questioned.

Pan smirked, "if you're a good drawer, then yes, it _is_ easy. Basically, you draw whatever you want and turn it in at the end of each week, and, during the week, you'll have Improvisation drawing, which is where the teacher picks a subject, and you draw something relevant to that subject. Improv is every day of the week, and each drawing's worth twenty points. The Free Draw projects due at the end of each week are worth a certain amount of bonus points, depending on how much you pay attention to detail, depth of field, shading; all that drawing lingo."

"And then there are those state-wide drawing competitions," Marron continued, "those are worth bonus points for participation, and you can get extra if you place in the competition."

"Sounds fairly straight-forward," Bra nodded once, and then nudged her friend, "what were you going to tell us before Maori and her clones came over to mess with us?"

"_Bra Briefs_," Pan hissed, "now is _not_ the time for that. She said it wasn't important, so stop pressing the issue. Fill out your ice breaker and leave well enough alone."

"Thanks, Pan," Marron breathed a sigh of relief, and then smiled weakly at Bra, "I know you're only trying to be a good friend, but this isn't something I want to talk about with you guys. It's really between me and Uub."

_Real best friends tell their best friends when something as important as losing their virginity happens_, said the snide voice at the back of her head. The blonde girl ignored it, twirling the end of one of her pony tails with one finger while she looked over the ice breaker sheet. It was time to focus on graduating and going to college so she could become a teacher, her personal issues could wait for a while.

* * *

><p><strong>And so begins the mundaneness of school life. Makes me feel kind of old… Um, so I have a small preview of what's to come, not specifically the next chapter, but the story as a whole. Just something that came to me while I was killing a spider in the restroom while trying to take a leak.<strong>

"_Marron, what the HFIL are you doing here so late?" Pan hissed as she closed the door behind her, walking across the deck to meet the sobbing blonde haired teenager who was curled into a ball on the wood, rocking from side to side, "it's nearly two in the," she paused, noticing her friend's tears, "Maz… what happened?"_

"_Panny, I just…" Marron whimpered, wiping at the tears running down her face, "I can do it anymore. Uub won't talk to me, won't even see me… my parents act like I don't even exist, they're so ashamed… I should've never told them, you should've seen the way they looked at me," she sobbed, "my own mother told me that she didn't know me anymore."_

"_Maz," the Son dropped to her knees next to her distraught friend, "what are you talking about? What did you tell your parents and Uub? Sweetie, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's—"_

"_I'm pregnant, Pan," the blonde girl's voice was emotionless, "I told them I was pregnant and they just," she shook her head as tears began to flow and sobs began to impede on her speech, "I thought they'd always be there for me, no matter what, but I screwed up one good time, and it's like I'm the worst person in the world. I don't know what to do anymore… They turned their backs on me…"_

"_Shhh," Pan pushed away her shock and hugged the hurt girl tightly, stroking her hair, "I'm not going anywhere, Maz," she kissed the top of her head, "you want to stay here for the night?"_

"_I can't," Marron whispered, "I don't want to intrude…"_

"_Please, you're hardly intruding," the Son stood up and helped her friend to her feet, "you need some place to stay where no one will treat you like shit just because you made a mistake, and I can assure you that no one's going to do that here. Come on, I've got more than enough space in my bed for you."_

"_Thank you, Pan," the blonde girl whispered hoarsely, "you're a ray of sunshine."_

* * *

><p><strong>Not for certain when that's going to happen, but… I'd say by the time she reaches the beginning of her second trimester. Just thought I'd give you a little idea of what I've got in store for poor Marron here. Uub's going to seem like a bit of a douche, obviously, but he'll come around… eventually.<strong>

_**CloudSpires1295**_


	3. The End of Normalcy

**Let's continue, shall we? School's started, everyone's settled in, and then what happens? More symptoms! I guess it is kind of odd that I'm looking forward to the demise of a fictional character's sense of normalcy, but yeah… that's where the story gets good.**

* * *

><p>"What the HFIL?" Marron whispered, tugging at the button of her jeans, "I just bought these jeans two weeks ago…"<p>

It had been three weeks since school started, and everyone was getting settled back into the groove of things. September was still in its beginning stages, and the weather was starting to cool down in preparation for the coming Autumn. The blonde girl had been haunted for the past three weeks by the lack of a visit from Aunt Flo, but she was still sure that it was stress. In a few more weeks, it'll have been two months since she last talked to Uub… and since they'd had sex.

"Am I bloating? Is that it?" she questioned, "maybe it's my cycle… maybe it's going to start soon. Yeah," the blonde nodded, "it's just bloating, that's all it is." Her icy gaze drifted to that forlorn miniature calendar on the bedside table, but she forced the suspicion down and sucked her stomach in, as much as she could considering how flat it usually was, and forced the brass button through the corresponding hole and zipped the dark wash Levi jeans up.

_Whoa, that's a tight fit…_ Marron headed over to her bed to grab the loose fitting light blue button-down that she'd chosen to go with the jeans. Ignoring the sensation of the waistband of the jeans cutting into her gut, the girl put the top on, buttoned it up, and fashioned her hair in a messy bun, toed on some flats, and grabbed her back pack before heading down for breakfast.

Today, the window in the kitchen was open, filling the small room with the powerful scent of the incoming tide, all briny and salty. Usually, the smell didn't bother the daughter of Krillin, but today it had a different effect. The moment Marron opened the door to the kitchen and got a whiff of the sea breeze, her appetite flew south for the winter, and her stomach began to bubble with nausea. It was all she could do to keep from turning tail and running back up the stairs to her room. Grimacing slightly, she barely managed to speak, feeling bile trying to fight its way up her esophagus.

"M-mom," Marron whispered, "I'll eat at school. Just put it in a capsule."

"What? Why?" Juuhachi questioned, "why not just sit down and eat here?"

"I've got tutorials this morning, that's all," the young Chestnut bit back a moan as her stomach roiled threateningly, "Kami—I mean, Pan should be here soon to take me."

Not a moment too late, Pan's hover car pulled up outside, and Marron all but snatched the capsule from her mother's hand and ran outside, "bye," hurrying across the sand to her friend's car. The moment she was inside, and the scent was shut out, the nausea began to abate and she relaxed against the cool leather seats with a sigh of relief.

"What the HFIL is wrong with you?" Pan questioned, bewildered, "you looked like something from the depths of HFIL was chasing you out of the house just now."

"Just drive," she whispered, "please… fucking drive, Pan."

"Alright," The Son shrugged and started the car back up, sending it shooting across the ocean, "can't you just tell me? You look a little green under the gills, by the way. Just don't puke in my car."

"The smell," the blonde whispered, "the _damn_ smell."

"What smell?"

"The ocean smell," Marron reiterated, "I used to love that smell and now, just this morning, it's started making me feel like I'm about to upchuck my insides." She sighed again and laid a hand on her gut, massaging it gently to help soothe the uneasy sensation of nausea away. Pan raised a brow at her motions, "you feeling alright, sweetie?"

"No," the blonde girl gave another sigh, this one sharp with irritation, "I could barely get my jeans buckled this morning, and I've skipped my period for more than a month," the last part slipped out, unfiltered by her frustration, "it'll be two months that I haven't had a period and it's freaking me out because I never skip—"

"Whoa," the Son cut in on Marron's rant, "whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Maz-chan," she patted her friend's knee, "you've probably been stressing yourself out over the whole Uub situation. Have you talked to him yet?"

"I—uh, no, I haven't," Marron mumbled, "I just… I've been so busy with starting senior year; I haven't been able to really think about it, much less talk to him. Pan," she grabbed her brunette friend's hand, "can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah," Pan responded, keeping her eyes trained on the road, "wait a minute, is this about—"

"Yes," the blonde girl whispered, "I don't want to tell Bra yet because… you know how she is. She takes stuff too far and I'm not ready to deal with her reaction, not just yet. The night we had that triple date on the sea wall, Uub and I disappeared."

"Yeah, I know that. We couldn't even sense you two."

"Uub put up a ki shield and we went down to the beach to watch the sunset. We'd found this little cove on the coast, surrounded by hibiscus bushes and palm trees… it was so peaceful. He brought a blanket and Trunks helped him pick out a bottle of pink champagne just for me—"

"Champagne?" Pan blurted, "Maz, you're only seventeen!"

"I know, dammit, now stop interrupting me," she hissed in response, "Uh, anyway, one thing led to another, we drunk the whole bottle and then we," she flushed bright red just thinking about it, "Pan, we had sex."

"Oh… my… Dende," the daughter of Gohan breathed, "no _wonder_ you don't want to tell Bra, she'd just go on and on about how you swiped your V-card before she did and she's the most promiscuous out of the three of us. Did you use protection?"

"He wasn't too wasted to use a condom," Marron bit her lip, "I can't even remember it."

"There isn't even that much alcohol in champagne… and you two somehow got _wasted_. Humans must not have a high tolerance for it," Pan shot her best friend an awed look, "you had _sex_."

"Yes," the daughter of Krillin admitted, "I had sex."

"I can't say I'm not shocked," Pan muttered, "I'm not going to tell, but _damn_," she breathed, "no wonder you and Uub aren't talking. If it were Trunks and I," she gave a whistle, "I wouldn't know what the hell to say to him either. Don't worry though," the Son grabbed her friend's hand, "Uub's not some boy from our dreadful excuse for a high school, he's twenty-three and he's got a pretty decent head on his shoulders for a twenty-three year-old. You both do, so there's nothing to worry about. You guys will work through this and come out of this as an even stronger couple."

"You think so?" Marron inquired, "I just… what if the condom had a hole in it? What if I'm not getting my period because I'm—"

"Uub's not an asshole," the brunette pointed out, "you know him better than I do. If the condom was faulty, he would've told you the moment he noticed it, not leave you to obsess over whether or not there was a hole. You're stressing yourself out over nothing. I say you call him and meet up somewhere after school today, clear the air and see where you're standing with him. That's the only way to deal with a problem, by facing it head on."

"You're right," the blonde girl mumbled, "Kami, if I screwed around and got pregnant… My parents would probably murder me. I'd be screwing my life up big time."

**(A/N: Oh, the **_**irony! *authoress cackles maniacally***_**)**

"Right. I can only imagine what my mother would do," she shuddered, "oh Kami, and Grandma Chichi," Pan pressed a hand to her cheek, "I wouldn't live to reach a full term pregnancy."

"I thought she'd be crazy about getting great grandkids."

"Her motto's '_marriage first, kids second_'," Pan snorted, "so, no, she'd be ready to kill me," she pulled into the parking lot of the school, "alright, enough future talk, let's get in here and knock this trig out really quick," she rolled her brow eyes skywards, "I don't want to think about kids until I'm at _least_ in my mid-twenties."

"Amen to that."

"My lips are sealed," Pan whispered, nodding towards the approaching cherry red convertible hover car, "not saying anything to her unless you tell me to." Marron nodded once in thanks and got out of the car, her earlier nausea spell and the debacle with the jeans all but forgotten, stowed away at the back of her mind.

While Pan and Bra greeted each other, the blonde pulled her phone out of her pocket and went to her contacts, stopping on Uub's name and picture. It was picture of them both, sitting in the meadow where he liked to train. She had her head thrown back, laughing, and he was the cause, running his fingers up her sides, tickling her. She selected her form of contact, text message, and quickly typed out a message.

'_Can we talk? You name the place, I'm free after 2:30._'

Marron wasn't surprised that he didn't respond immediately. Her boyfriend was an early riser, and often spent his mornings meditating or doing some light training before heading off to the dojo that he and Goten co-owned. The two men served as sensei, and, every once in a while, Trunks, Pan, and, rarely, Gohan would swing by to teach a class or two. Now that Pan was in school again, she wouldn't have the time… well, she _would_, but her grandmother would say otherwise. Inwardly rolling her eyes at the sidetrack, the girl wondered how awkward things would be when she and Uub finally spoke… if he said yes… Oh kami…

"Hey, girly, you look pale today," Bra appeared in front of Marron, who'd been deep in her thoughts, "what's going on?"

"Nothing," Marron shook her head, smiling lightly, "just thinking about Uub."

"Have you guys talked yet?" the bluenette questioned, and the blonde nodded, "we're going to, today after school."

"That's good," the Briefs heiress grinned, "about time you guys cleared the air. Well," she grabbed Pan's arm, "ladies, to Trig, and then basic freedom for the rest of the day. I heard we'll be working on splits in Dance."

"I can already do the splits," Pan drawled back, "and then some."

"That's because you've got freaking martial arts flexibility," Bra responded, "if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were made up of nothing but liquid rubber, you're so darn bendable."

"Yeah, well, if you'd started martial arts when you were two, you'd be crazy flexible, too," the Son poked in, smiling cheekily, "now, come on, let's do math."

*later: Dance class*

Bra watched enviously as her brunette best friend slid seamlessly down into a right split, resting easily in the position with her palms resting on the floor. There was nary a gap between the apex of her legs and the mats that their teacher had placed on the wooden dance floor. The Son girl smiled up at her friend as she shifted her pelvis slightly to get into proper position, "what?"

"I hate you."

"Bra," Marron giggled as she slid down into her own right split, "that's not nice."

"You hate me?" Pan asked with a laugh, "just because of a body position?"

"Yes," the bluenette turned her nose up in the air and lowered herself into the position, "I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Really?" the daughter of Gohan raised her brows in mock-surprise, "I'd have _never_ guessed. I don't know why you hate me, though," she gestured to Bra's rather impressive right split, "yours isn't all that bad."

"Stop being such a show-off, Son," Maori hissed bitterly, "we get it, you're a martial artist, no one cares."

"The teacher told us to do a right split and she did it, so I don't see how doing what the teacher told me to do could be perceived as '_showing off_'. Why don't you stay on your mat and mind your own business, Maori?" Bra groused, "we get it, you're jealous because you're on the varsity cheerleading squad, four years running, and yet Pan's more flexible than you'll ever be."

"Did I ask for your opinion, you _spoilt_ _brat_?" the envious girl hissed, "just because your last name is Briefs doesn't mean you're the best thing that ever happened to this place."

"No, it means I'm the best thing that ever happened to this whole planet," the blue haired girl responded, "so yeah, I guess you're right."

"Miss Peechum, could you please be quiet," Mrs. Diamond, the dance teacher, spoke in a soft yet firm tone, "we're working on our splits, not our talking."

**(A/N: The dance teacher at my old high school was named Mrs. Diamond and… well, she was quite the unpleasant person to be around.)**

*in the locker room*

"Hey, Maz-chan, what's this," Bra poked her friend in the lower stomach as she pulled her dance shirt over her head, "is that a little pudginess I see." Pan glanced over at Bra's words, eye brows raised in question. Marron shook her head, "I'm bloating. I think my cycle's coming soon."

"Ah, I hate bloating," the bluenette remarked, "probably one of the worst symptoms after the cramping."

"Don't forget the tender tits." The Son giggled.

"And acne," Bra shuddered, "the _acne_."

"Alright, so can we all agree that being a woman sucks sometimes," Marron snickered, "despite the whole '_bleed for a week_' crap, I think I'd rather deal with that than to have something swinging between my legs and barely being able to hide it when I'm turned on in public. I don't know how they do it."

"Men," Bra shrugged, "what an enigma. They can be so dumb but so sweet sometimes. They mean well, but it's still hilarious when they screw up."

"Amen," Pan agreed wholeheartedly, "your brother is a prime example."

"I'm so telling him."

"Like I don't tell him that enough as it is. You won't be telling him anything new."

"Just wear your dance pants for the rest of the day, Maz," the bluenette suggested, "they'll be more comfortable for you." Marron pulled her phone out of the bottom of her bag and checked it for missed texts. There was one from her mother, asking if she was alright, and one from Uub.

_Uub_.

The daughter of Krillin couldn't get the message open fast enough. Her eyes glowed with relief as she examined the contents, a slow smile spreading over her cheeks.

'_I'll come by and pick you up after school, and then we'll go for ice cream and talk then. Is that alright?_'

'_Fine by me,_' Marron tapped out, '_I get out of school at 12:50. My last two classes are Off Campus._'

As they left the locker room, Marron pulled her brunette friend aside, "Uub says he'll come pick me up after school, and then we're going to get some ice cream so we can talk." Pan smiled, "that sounds great. Hope everything works out."

"Me too."

*after fifth period*

Marron stood out on the carport, waiting patiently for her boyfriend to pull up in his dark green hover car. Pan and Bra had already departed, both of them wishing her luck with Uub beforehand. The blonde girl took a seat on a nearby bench and began scrolling through her phone while she waited. Unbidden, her mind began to wander to the lack of a menstruation cycle for the past month, soon to be going on two in a few weeks.

_I really don't think it's just stress,_ Marron thought to herself, _I haven't been that stressed, even though things with me and Uub were so weird_. _Maybe it is, maybe everything will clear up after we talk_. _Maybe I'm just being paranoid_. _Yeah, I'm just being paranoid…_

Her reverie was broken by a familiar honk of a horn, and Marron looked up, smiling gleefully as Uub coasted to a stop by the curb in front of her. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed the former Majin until now, now that she was able to see him again. He sat in the driver's seat smiling brightly, his chocolate brown Mohawk in the familiar disarray that she loved, brown eyes aglow with love for her.

"Hi," she whispered, sliding into the passenger seat, "how are you?"

"I'm great," Uub responded in his medium tenor, "how about you?"

"Fine," the blonde girl responded, unsure of whether or not she should tell him about her fears, "how about this ice cream?"

"Ice cream, coming right up," the Majin fusion started the car up and released the emergency break, "so, senior year's underway. How're classes?"

"Refreshingly easy," she shrugged, "probably the easiest they've been since I started high school. I've only got one core class, and the rest are electives."

*at the ice cream parlor*

Uub and Marron took a small table for two at the back of the little ice cream parlor they often frequented after the blonde girl got out of school. The daughter of Krillin had her usual, a large chocolate malt with a swirl of whipped cream and a cherry on top, and the former Majin had his usual, an extra-large root beer float with old fashioned root beer and homemade vanilla ice cream. The young couple sat quietly for a moment, sipping on their drinks, pausing when a woman approached, carrying a plate of freshly baked pastries.

"Here you are, you two," the pleasant elderly woman laid the plate, piled high with freshly baked sugar and snicker doodle cookies, on the table, "they're fresh out the oven. Eat up."

"Thanks, Miss Marlowe," Marron thanked her sweetly, "they smell delicious."

"Don't mention it, dearie," she nodded once and headed back into the kitchen. The moment she was gone, the blonde girl glanced up at her boyfriend, "I don't know where to start, Uub. I just…"

"I think we both agree that that night shouldn't have ever happened," Uub cut in, reaching out for one of the cookies, "Kami, I never should've brought out the champagne. I was just trying to be romantic, I never thought it would lead up to… well, _that_," he sighed deeply, "I'm so sorry, Maz."

"I'm the one who didn't say no when you offered it, so I'm just as much to blame as you are," Marron whispered, "and I don't blame you for trying to be romantic. The champagne was a nice touch, though. We just," she giggled softly, "I think, next time, we should leave the champagne alone. It was the first time for both of us and we can't even remember it. Well, I barely can."

"I've remembered bits and pieces," he shrugged weakly, "nothing concrete. Marron," his face was filled with worry, "I know I used a condom, but… I'd had those for a month or two. You don't think there might be a chance that they didn't work and you might be—"

"No," Marron answered quickly, "I don't think I'm," she dropped her voice low, "_pregnant_. I haven't been feeling strange at all." The last bit of her statement was a white lie and she knew it, but the last thing she wanted was to scare him by mentioning the strange things that had been happening to her body as of late.

"Thank Kami," he breathed, "don't get me wrong, Maz, I'd love to have kids with you one day… but definitely not one day soon."

"I know what you mean," she responded quietly, "now," the blonde grabbed a warm snicker doodle cookie from the plate, inhaling the sweet, cinnamon and sugar scent, "I'd hate for these awesome cookies to get cold before we can eat them."

"So…" Uub grabbed a cookie, "we're okay?"

Marron smiled reassuringly and reached across the table to squeeze his hand, "we're fine." A shard of guilt lodged itself in her heart as she remembered her lie, but the last thing she wanted was for what happened on the beach to push them apart entirely. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she lost Uub instead of reconciling with him. There was something she needed to do, something that would clear up the suspicions once and for all.

*later on*

"Mom, can I borrow the hover car really quick?" Marron came down the stairs from her bedroom, dressed in a loose grey tunic and a pair of black and white tights. She held a pair of black flats and a black cross body bag with fringe in her hands, and her hair was still up in a messy bun, "I just need to run to the store and get something for a project in Plant Study." Her voice was oddly firm, not even a trace of a quiver to give her lie away.

"Alright," Juuhachi waved her towards the front hall, "the keys and the capsule are in the bowl on the table next to the door. Be quick about it."

"Thanks, Mom, I wi—"

"Marron," the android's gaze became somewhat beseeching, "you've been acting a little strange lately. Is something going on between you and Uub or Pan and Bra?"

"Oh no, Uub and the girls and I are fine," the blonde teen stooped to put on her flats, "there were a few things that Uub I had to talk about today after school, but we cleared it up and we're doing much better now." _Even better if all goes to plan…_

"Good," Juu nodded, "be careful on the road and make sure you're back before sunset. I don't want you driving over the water in the dark."

"Yes, Mom," Marron pecked her mother on the cheek and scurried out of the room to collect the capsule and the keys, _alright, now, better hurry. Blue Star City's pretty far, but I think I can manage it_… _can't afford to be recognized_.

Quick as a wink, the girl was in the car and starting up the engine. Her mother stood in the doorway of the humble abode, watching as she pulled off into the air, shooting off across the water. Her icy gaze drifted to the sun, seeing that it would be setting in an hour or two, and went back into the house to watch the television with Krillin. It was rare that they got to watch the TV, what with Oolong and Roshi and their workout video addiction.

*meanwhile: an hour later*

Blue Star City was a small, quaint town, situated between Silver Star City, the place where the University that she wanted to go to was located, and Satan City. It wasn't so small that, if the people there saw her leaving the store with the items she desired, they'd spread it around to everyone there, but it wasn't big like Satan City, and no one she went to school with lived there… not that she knew of.

Marron pulled into the small parking lot of the generic drug store and put on a pair of sunglasses and slipped the strap of her bag over her body before climbing out of the car, shutting and locking the door, and hurried across the lot to the doors. The person working behind the register was an elderly man who began leering at her from his position the moment he saw her enter. Shuddering with disgust, the young woman scanned the aisles of the small store, searching for the item she needed.

_There_.

The aisle seemed to go on forever, but soon, too soon for her liking, Marron was standing before a shelf filled with condoms, a locked cabinet displaying the types of birth control the built-in pharmacy offered, and, of course, the pregnancy tests. Her manicured fingers shook as she reached out to examine a few of the brands, dropping the ones that were 99.9% effective and placing them in a handheld basket she'd found on the floor nearby. She selected four brands that seemed reliable and, with a heavy heart, began the trek up to the register to pay.

"Oh," the man drawled as she placed the basket on the counter, "got yerself in a bit of a fix, haven't yeh, missy?" The blonde girl pretended not to hear him, though her cheeks flamed redder than a fire engine, and continued to dig through her purse for her wallet, "how much?"

"1850 zeni, sweet cheeks," the old man looked her up and down, smiling lecherously and showing off the teeth he was missing, "it's a shame what the younger generation has come to…" He shook his head in mock-shame, "wonder what yer folks are gonna say when yeh drop the bomb. Yeh can always come stay with me if they kick yeh to the curb, though."

"Can you just put those in a bag?" Marron hissed, irritated as she held out the appropriate amount of bills, "I'm in a hurry."

"Fine, fine," the old man took her money and placed it in the register, and then bagged the tests, "feel free to come see me again if things get rough," he chuckled perversely as she snatched the bag and receipt from him, "I'd be happy to give yer slutty ass a place to stay, so long as yeh don't mind earning yer keep… if yeh know what I mean."

"You're disgusting," Marron snapped, hurrying to the door.

"I'm a man, missy," he drawled, "men have needs; I'd have thought yeh knew that, seeing as yeh got yerself into this particular situation." The blonde girl pretended not to hear the mocking laughter behind her as she sprinted across the lot to her car, fumbling to get her keys in the lock as her heart pounded and her palms sweated. The pervert in the store, disgusting as he was, had brought several fears to light.

_What if Momma and Poppa kick me out? I don't even know if I'm even pregnant… why am I even thinking about this, of course I'm not pregnant… right?_

Forcing her rampant thoughts to calm, the girl shoved the black plastic bag into her purse, along with her wallet, and started up the car. As she pulled out, Marron saw the old man peering out of the window at her, a leering smile on his face, showing off the missing teeth in his top and bottom rows. A shiver raced up her spine, and she hurriedly pulled back onto the main road and headed back down the interstate to Satan City.

When she reached the midpoint between Blue Star and Satan City, Marron's phone chimed, and she answered the call, putting it on speaker so she could continue to focus on the road, "Hello?"

"_Hey, girly,_" Pan's voice emanated from the phone, "_how'd things go with Uub?_"

"Oh, uh… fine," the blonde glanced at her purse in the passenger seat, "we're doing great now."

"_That's great, Maz,_" the Son's voice was cheerful, "_but what were you doing all the way in Blue Star? I sensed you a while back because your ki spiked a little. What's going on?_"

"I had to pick something up from a store up there for Plant Study, that's all," Marron explained, "the cashier was a little rude, though." _More like a pervert_. She shuddered in memory of the old man's forwardness and his lewd comments.

"_Ah, I see_," Pan's voice was filled with understanding, "_well, I just wanted to make sure that everything was alright with you and Uub. I'll see you tomorrow morning for school, chica_."

"Alright then," Marron smiled wanly, "love you, Pan."

"_Love you, too, chica. Bye._"

"Bye." The call disconnected, and the daughter of Krillin released a sigh she didn't realize that she'd been holding. Her icy blue gaze kept flicking to the edge of black plastic sticking out of her purse as she drove, and she couldn't get the tests out of her mind.

What if they were positive? What if she'd actually ruined her senior year? What if her parents kicked out because they thought she was a slut? So many fears began to plague the young girl's mind, and a few tears slipped, unnoticed, from her eyes, running down her cheeks and dribbling from her jaw. A few weeks ago, her life had been fairly easy, just focused on finishing senior year as strongly as possible and now… now there was the possibility of a child, the possibility of her whole life to come crashing down around her.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared beyond belief. So scared that, when she got home, Marron immediately hurried to her room and hid the bag in a small space beneath a loose floorboard in her closet. There was no way she could take those things now. Her nerves were too bad, her emotions running too high; she didn't know how she'd react to the tests coming out positive. And so, the small plastic bag lay under her closet floor, weighing heavily on her in the back of her mind…

**(A/N: And here, I glossed over the next two weeks so we could get to the Big Kahuna.)**

It took a week for her to forget the bags' presence, despite various weird occurrences in her body, another week to fully rekindle her relationship with Uub. In the third week, however, towards the end of September, everything came crashing back to her when she found herself waking up in the middle of the night, her stomach churning powerfully, and she was forced to run to her bathroom, lest she risk expelling the contents of her stomach in her bed.

Weary from her short session kneeling before the porcelain throne, the blonde girl washed her mouth out and stumbled back into the dark bedroom, only to freeze in the doorway. A shaft of moonlight had slipped through the blinds of her window, the pale blue glow falling on that accursed little calendar. Marron felt her stomach as she realized that the day marked the second month she'd gone without having her monthly and she knew what she had to do.

The loose floorboard was removed, the bag was lifted from the crawl space, and a large glass was repeatedly filled to the brim with water and chugged as quickly as possible, until Marron's stomach sloshed audibly, filled to bursting with water. She felt as though she were running on autopilot as she sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for the water to take its course.

Half an hour later, her bladder was throbbing for relief, and, grabbing the bag, Marron went into her bathroom, shut and locked the door, and pulled the first box from the bag and opened it. Laying the plastic stick on the counter, the teen girl pulled her shorts and underwear down, sat on the toilet, and, grimacing, grabbed the stick and held beneath her and began to relieve herself, stopping briefly to switch tests.

When the daughter of Krillin and Juuhachigo was done, four white plastic sticks were laid in a row of the counter beside her sink, and the timer on her phone was set for the ten minute wait. Unable to sit in the small bathroom any longer, the blonde girl went into the bedroom and sat on the edge of her unmade bed, drawing her knees up into her chest and resting her forehead on top of them. She was oddly numb as she sat there, waiting for the reveal of something that could, potentially, change her life forever.

A _baby_. She, Marron Kuri Chestnut, was possibly, most likely, _pregnant_.

In the midst of her loud, roiling thoughts, her cell phone gave a quiet trill, signaling the end of her wait. Marron unfolded herself and stood up, walking towards the bathroom with feet that felt like they'd been encased in blocks of katchin. She turned the alarm off and, summoning up all her courage, glanced at the tests lined up on the counter, hoping that she'd just contracted some virus and…

Her stomach fell to her feet.

A plus sign, a smiley face, the word '_pregnant_', and a pair of blue lines greeted her in the small screens on each plastic stick. She barely registered the sensation of her knees hitting the floor, too numb with shock to care. Her shoulders were shaking, lips were quivering, and this odd ripping sound began to fill the bathroom. Warm, wetness coated her cheeks and she reached up to touch her cheeks, confused.

She was crying, sobbing, bawling like a child. In a sense, that was the way she felt. Like a child who'd gone and forced herself to grow up far faster than what she was ready for, and now she had to pay for it. Curled into a ball on the floor of the little bathroom, Marron Chestnut kissed her carefree, teenage life goodbye, for the road ahead of her would be anything but.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoa… I did it! It wasn't necessarily supposed to happen this early, but once I got started on the last scene here, I couldn't stop writing, I just had to get it out. So, now the stage has been set, and now… now it's time to stir up some drama. I've never done a teen pregnancy fic before this, so feel free to let me know if I go overboard on some of this stuff in later chapters. My wrists are hurting something fierce, and I need to take a break and go make myself a cappuccino or something to restore my creative juice reservoir. Let me know what you think!<strong>

**One last thing. I know, Uub and Marron's conversation was kind of weaksauce and all, but they are NOT my OTP *cough* TxP *cough*. I promise to do better with them later on. I'm gonna have to because shit's going to be hitting the fan soon. I can't tell you how soon… but it will be soon, as you saw in the preview in last chapter. Saty tuned!**

_**CloudSpires1295**_


	4. Resolve

**And here we go, chapter three…**

* * *

><p>"Marron," Juuhachi entered her daughter's room that morning to wake her for school, "Marron, it's time for school."<p>

The wife of Krillin glided over to her daughter's bedside and sat on the edge of the bed, idly wondering why her daughter had yet to wake, seeing as she was usually such a light sleeper. Though, lately, she'd been sleeping a bit heavier than usual. Brushing thick blonde waves out of the younger woman's face, the android was surprised so find her child's face was reddened and puffy, her eyes swollen and enflamed, and dried tear tracks were coating her cheeks.

"Uh…" Marron groaned softly and opened bloodshot ice blue eyes, peering up at her mother tiredly, "Momma?" Juuhachi brushed a thumb over her daughter's cheek, clearly concerned, "Marron, you've been crying…"

"I… I have?" the younger woman feigned confusion quite well for being half awake, "I didn't know… I think I had a nightmare."

It was partial truth and a lie, all rolled into one simple statement. Last night, life as she knew had gone from a sweet dream to an all-encompassing nightmare that was fraught with potential stress and pain. She'd hoped, as she was rousing from a fitful, fruitless sleep, that everything that had happened the night before had all been some sick dream, induced by her worry over her lack of a period, but she knew it wasn't so. She could feel the distinct lumps of those accursed plastic sticks underneath her pillow.

"Alright," Juu hardly looked convinced, but she could see that her daughter wasn't in the mood to talk, "well, shower and get dressed. Pan will be here to pick you up soon."

"I don't want to ride with Pan today," Marron said softly, "could you drive me to school, Mom? Please, I just don't feel like to talking to my friends this morning." At her words, Juuhachi gave a slight grin, "I'll do you one better," and, from the pocket of her robe, produced a capsule and a set of keys, "your father and I think it's about time you get a car of your own. You would've had one sooner, if your silly father wasn't so paranoid."

"I… Mom…" the blonde teen numbly took the capsule and the keys, "th-thank you… Oh Kami," a smile lit up her tear stained face, "oh wow… thank you so much! I have to text Pan and tell her that I don't need a ride. Oh my kami…"

"Text her, shower, and get dressed, dear," the android waved her hands, indicating that she should hurry, "you're welcome. You've more than earned it." The moment the door shut behind her, Marron's gleeful façade crumbled, and her lip began to quiver as tears fought to fall from her eyes.

_I didn't earn this,_ she dropped the capsule and the keys on her bedspread, _I don't deserve this… I don't deserve it at all…_

Biting her lip to keep the sobs at bay, she hurriedly got sent Pan a quick text, threw together a pull over and a pair of sweat pants, gathered her underwear, and hurried into the bathroom to shower. Only then, when she was encased in the steam filled stall, hot water pouring down over her body, did she allow her emotions to overtake her. Curled into a ball at the bottom of the stall, the blonde girl wept fitfully for what she'd lost.

*later: breakfast*

"Marron," Krillin greeted, "you look… _nice_." He furrowed a brow at the oversized dark purple hoodie she wore on her torso, and the loose black sweats that all but swallowed her legs whole. Her blonde hair, damp and darkened from her shower, was piled atop her head in a loose, messy bun. She smiled weakly at her father and shrugged, "all seniors get lazy when it comes to picking out clothes, you know… it does get old after a while. Thank you for the car, Poppa."

"Oh, you're welcome," Krillin gave a wide grin and began eating the omelet Juuhachi laid in front of him, "Bulma helped us pick it out just for you. Got a pretty good deal on it, too."

"I'll just fix a bagel and get going," Marron told her mother as she began to mix together the ingredients for her omelet, "I want to get there early because I've got something I need to do with my schedule."

"Alright then," Juuhachi began preparing her own omelet, "drive safe. No funny business."

"Yes, ma'am." Marron dropped the two pieces of bread into the toaster and pushed the switch down to cook them, "do we have any strawberry cream cheese?"

She walked over to the fridge and opened it, searching for the small, round container of bagel spread. She found it on the second shelf, at the very back with a container of plain cream cheese and took it out. Behind her, the toaster popped, and her mother took out the bread and laid them on a paper towel for her, along with a butter knife to spread the cheese.

"Thanks, Momma," Marron kissed her mother on the cheek and began to spread the creamy strawberry flavored cheese onto the bagel, studiously fighting to keep her mask on. It was inexorably hard when all she wanted to do was break down and cry like a baby. However, she wanted to savor these moments of normalcy with her parents before she had to reveal her… _condition_ to them, so, for the sake of her desire, she was forced to keep her true feelings at bay. All the fear, stress, and worry was gnawing away at her, and she didn't know how she was possibly going to cope with it all.

*a little later*

"Hon, don't you think Maz-chan was acting a little weird?" Krillin inquired of his wife as they stood on the beach, watching Marron's new hover car, a dark pink model, vanish across the water in the light of the rising sun, "I don't know what it was… but something wasn't right with her. She seemed a little forced to me."

"I don't know, Krillin," Juu responded quietly, "but if there's something wrong, she'll tell us." Her icy blue gaze remained on the water as she said this, and gently brushed a hand over his head, "we should do something today. Perhaps a shopping trip is in order."

"You're trying to break my bank account, aren't you?" the short monk shook his head, "alright, fine… we'll go to the mall."

"You know me so well." Juuhachi drawled, leading the way back into the humble abode, "besides, we could use a break from that infernal pig and that lecherous old man."

*at OSH*

Marron chose a park at the back of the lot, far from where Pan and Bra usually parked, and sat in the car for a few minutes, letting a few tears escape behind the tinted windows. She grabbed her phone and began searching for a free clinic in some of the smaller, outlying cities that she could go to and get hard proof that she was… _pregnant_.

A part of her was desperate to find some kind of clue that this whole thing was just a tropical virus that mimicked the symptoms of pregnancy, but she knew that the chances of that were far steeper than the truth. Besides, she'd never left Japan before in her life, where would she even pick something like that up?

When her head was clear, and her face was composed and any evidence of tears had been erased, Marron grabbed her rucksack, pocketed her phone, and turned the car off. She took a deep breath to further compose herself and exited the hover car, shouldering her rucksack and shutting the door. She hit the lock button twice and began the trek across the lot to the doors.

_So far so good_, Marron thought to herself, _no one looks suspicious…_

The moment she pulled the door open and entered the school, she instantly felt as though everyone was staring at her, looking straight through her clothes to the teeny bulge that had begun to form between her hips. Every whisper and laugh passed between the various groups of girls and boys loitering along the walls of the main hall, she was convinced they had something to do with her. Every slight glance to the side was on her; she couldn't stand it anymore and kept her eyes down on the floor as she walked to the secluded spot where she and the girls, Bra and Pan, often hung around before school started.

_What's wrong with me? I started freaking the moment I walked in… this isn't good, how am I supposed to handle the stares when I actually start showing?_

The blonde girl took a seat on the floor and pulled her pack onto her lap, breathing slowly and evenly to calm her racing heart. Her palms were slick and coated generously in nervous perspiration, and her hands refused to stop shaking. Marron dropped her head, gazing at her backpack as she struggled to calm herself, eventually turning to drawing her knees up and hugging them with one arm, using the other to hold her phone and search for a reliable free clinic.

"Maz?" Pan's contralto voice cut through the haze of reminiscence, "sweetie, what's wrong? You were walking down the hall like a zombie, you walked right past us."

"Yeah," Bra jumped in from her spot at Pan's side, "your cheeks are all puffy. You've been crying," she looked incredibly worried, "did something happen between you and Uub, Maz-chan?"

_Not exactly… but exactly that, at the same time…_

"I- uh…" the blonde trailed off, unsure of what to say, "I just…" she shook her head sadly, "I don't want to talk about it. Please don't ask me to." Her two friends nodded, and Bra reached out to squeeze her hand, "we're here for you, hon. Whenever you're ready, just call us or come by one of our places."

"We're here whenever you want to talk," Pan finished, "okay?"

"I know," Marron whispered, smiling weakly.

_But there's nothing you can do for me now…_

*later: Dance*

"What's this?" Maori brushed past Marron as she changed out of her dance clothes, "is someone getting chubby around the middle? How sad. Goes to show you that you can't eat whatever you want and expect to keep a good figure."

"I eat whatever I want and I look great," Pan shot back, and Bra sneered, "Why don't you mind your own business and stay out of ours, bitch?"

"Touchy," the cheerleader snickered, "did I hit a nerve this time? I mean, look at her," Marron gasped in pain as the other girl practically stabbed her in the gut with her manicured nail, "she's putting on some weight there."

"_Touch her again and see what happens to your face_." the Son's voice became uncharacteristically dark, and the blonde girl came back to her senses, put her normal shirt back on, and grasped her brunette friend's hand, "Panny, it's okay, just leave it alone. She's not worth getting suspended over."

"Suspended?" Pan scoffed, "the principal's too scared of what my grandfather will do to him if he ever tries to suspend me to actually do it. But you're right," she smirked coldly at Maori, "I would _hate_ to destroy your plastic work."

"We can't all be born looking absolutely fabulous from babyhood onwards, now can we?" Bra drawled, tossing her blue locks over one shoulder, "so the less fortunate relegate themselves to cheap, illegal surgery to try and obtain what they were never meant to have. It's sad, really."

"You—" Maori started to retort, but the blue haired heiress spoke first, "I could destroy your so-called '_reputation_' with a few words said to the right people, so I'd watch what you say to me if I were you," her blue eyes glowed with mirth, "don't mess with my friends, and I won't have to ruin you. You might think you're the one who's Queen Bee of this place, but we all know the one who's really in charge is the one who no one can ever hope to find dirt on. Keep harassing us and your various sordid histories with the sports teams of OSH will become common knowledge to the student body, complete with proof so solid, not even I will be able to deny it, and that's the least damaging story I've got on you."

"Bra," Pan breathed, "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am," the bluenette smiled at Marron, "no one's allowed to mess with my friends and think they can waltz off into the sunset without a care in the world," her blue eyes narrowed dangerously as she regarded the shocked silent Maori, "I'd tread softly if I were you. My lips aren't as tightly sealed as they usually are."

Maori practically Instant Transmitted back to her locker, and Bra shook her head in response, "it's a shame that people can't just go to school without wanting to start up drama and mess with whoever they come by for no good reason other than to do it. I mean, look at us," she gestured to the three of them, "we keep to ourselves, don't dabble in the mundane, trivial lives of the other kids who have the biggest chips on their shoulders, and we're at the top of our class because of it. What's so hard about going to school for the reason you have to go in the first place?"

"Some people just like to watch the world burn," Pan responded, "and others like to light the match," She gently lifted Marron's shirt, "did she break skin?" The blonde jerked away from her friend's gentle touch, fearful of what she'd think if she saw the bump, "Uh, no… I'm fine, Pan. Not bleeding or anything."

"So, word on the street is that you got a new car," Bra sidled up to Marron as she pulled her purple hoodie over her head, "what's it look like?"

"Same as Pan's, only its dark pink," she responded softly, "nothing special. Look," Marron bit her lip, "I've got to run to an appointment after school, so I won't be eating lunch with you guys at the Sushi Hut."

"Okay, that's fine," the bluenette was unperturbed, "want us to get you anything to go? We could bring it by Kame before we head home, it's not any trouble."

"No, I'll be fine." Marron noticed Pan looking at her curiously and, when the bell rang, Bra darted off to Interior Design; the Son sidled up to the blonde as they left the locker room, smiling wanly.

"This appointment wouldn't happen to be a Gynecologist appointment, would it?" Pan inquired, her voice barely a whisper, and Marron turned to her, eyes wide, "what, why would you even—"

"You told me about you and Uub, remember?" Pan responded, keeping her voice low, "and I'd figured that's what it would be since you two struck a homerun."

"Oh… yeah," Marron nodded eagerly, "yeah, that's exactly what it is."

"… you're lying," Pan whispered back, "you hesitated a bit, and that's your usual lying hallmark. What are you really going to the doctor for?"

"Exactly the reason I gave you, Pan," the blonde girl responded, keeping her voice level, "it was the first time, and I just want to make sure that nothing's wrong with me. Why would I lie about that?"

"I don't know, you tell me," the brunette girl left her friend's side to head into her Creative Drawing class, "see you next period." In that moment, Marron hated Pan for being so perceptive and knowing her so well. Shaking slightly, the blonde teenager headed into her Free Draw class, took a seat at her usual desk, pulled out her drawing pad, pencils, sharpener, eraser, and shading tool, and began to draw.

She wasn't aware of her actions, of the motions of the pencil on the page until Miss Mcclure, the art teacher, had come to peer over her shoulder to see what she'd been drawing. In half the time allotted for the class, she'd finished her sketch and was putting the final touches on it when the woman spoke to her.

"Marron," the woman gently stilled her hands, "what's this?"

It was a girl. The girl was standing on a very familiar beach, with several non-descript people standing behind and around her, forming a loose semi-circle. The young woman's hair was waving about her face and her arms were wrapped tightly around her torso, the lower part of which lacked in detail. Her face was downturned; all that could be seen was her lips, which were, strangely enough, sealed shut by two pieces of tape, shaped in an '_X_'. The people around her, while having some details that gave away whether they were male or female, had no faces. The features that should've been there were strangely absent.

"Uh… I just started drawing. I don't exactly know." Marron whispered, knowing full well that she was lying. She knew, the moment she'd finished the rough layout, what she was drawing.

The girl was clearly her, and the people around her were representations of the people closest to her. Uub, her parents, Bra and Pan… The tape over her lips and the lack of detail in her abdomen represented the secret she was scared to tell. The blankness of the other people's faces represented her not knowing what their reactions to her secret would be.

"This is such a powerful piece," Miss Mcclure murmured, "the underlying emotion," her gaze shifted back to Marron, "could I talk to you after class, Miss Chestnut?"

"Of course, ma'am."

*after class*

"Alright," Opal Mcclure closed the door behind the last student and turned to face Marron, "would I be wrong to assume that the girl in this picture is you, and the others are your friends and family?"

"Yes," the blonde girl nodded, "they are."

"Might I ask what the inspiration was for this?" Opal inquired, "I get a sense of a secret of some kind, and fear… you have something that you'll need to tell them eventually and you're afraid of what they'll think of you? But the vagueness around your abdomen is something—" she glanced at her student again, furrowing her brow at her, "you don't have to say anything, dear girl," she handed the fearful girl back her sketch book, "but if you need someone to talk to, I'm a willing ear."

"Miss Mcclure…" the daughter of Krillin bit her lip, "please… don't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed, Miss Chestnut, I haven't the slightest clue what you mean," the woman gave a wink, "hurry on to your next class, and take this note," she signed a post-it and handed it to Marron, "in case you don't get there in time."

"Thank you, thank you so much." Marron nodded once and hurried from the room. The ebony haired art teacher closed the door behind her and took a seat behind her desk and breathed a morose sigh.

_The journey ahead of that poor child will be anything but easy… I hope, for her sake, that she will have the support and love she needs to make it through…_

*after school*

_Great… my first day back after figuring out that I'm actually pregnant and one of my teachers figured it out… How can this get any worse? Oh, it already has,_ Marron thought to herself as she examined the address of the free clinic she'd found, _I have to go to the clinic…_

Pepper Clinic, located in Pepper Town, just a few miles outside of Satan City, was exactly what she was looking for. The reviews were glowing, she wouldn't have to give her name, and an ultrasound was free of charge. Other clinics that she'd found had bad reviews and none of the options that she needed came free. With Pepper clinic, all she'd have to pay was a fee of 2000 zeni.

**(A/N: 2000 zeni is actually just about 20 bucks, if anyone was wondering.)**

The blonde girl tossed her rucksack into the backseat and started up the car, placing her phone in the cup-holder and starting up the GPS feature. She backed out of the space and made her way out of the parking lot, turning onto the road and following the directions to get out of the city and to Pepper Town. Her heart was in her throat, and her palms were slick on the wheel.

Soon, far too soon, the tall skyscrapers and office buildings transformed into small, suburban neighborhoods and strip malls and, from there, to fields full and brimming with wild flowers, crops, and animals. Little cozy homes and farm buildings were scattered throughout, and Marron turned off her AC and let the windows down so the crisp scent of the fresh, country air could flow into the car. The smell was a calming balm, soothing her nerves and slowing her heart rate.

_I can do this,_ she thought to herself, _it's alright… I'll worry about the rest later, right now; I need to focus on this appointment. After this, I'll figure out the rest_.

A sign flew past the hover car in a blur, and the daughter of Krillin saw that it'd read '_Pepper Town, three miles_'. Her head was clear, her mind focused on the task at hand. She let her left hand hang lazily out of the window, and a small grin, the first legitimate smile she'd had since she'd taken those pregnancy tests last night. Her hair was billowing around her face, and she brushed it aside lazily, keeping an eye out for the turnoff for Pepper Town.

The rest of the drive, as little of it there was left, was a blur. Marron made the turn off to the small, quaint town, and saw the clinic at the other end of the street she was on, the main street. It was one of those tiny towns you'd see on road trips, the ones that you'd miss if you blinked while driving through it. The people there seemed friendly, not like that dreadful man she'd met in the drug store in Blue Star. When the blonde girl pulled into a space at the clinic, there were only a few cars in the lot, two or three, and she hurriedly gathered her things together, capsulated her car, and made her way inside.

*at the reception desk*

"Hi, I'd like to see a doctor for an ultra sound." Marron spoke quietly to the woman behind the desk.

The woman's eyes widened at the sight of her, and she grabbed an empty clipboard and clipped several forms to it before handing it to the young girl, along with a pen, "here you are, dearie. Fill this out and return it to me. The doctor is out on her lunch break, but she should be back in five to ten minutes. What's your name?"

"Uh… Natsu," Marron hastily created a name, "Natsu Bellum."

"Mmhm…" it was clear that the receptionist, named Clara Morgan, could see through her lie, "well, Miss _Bellum_, have a seat in the waiting area and fill those forms out for me, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am." Marron nodded meekly and retreated to one of the chairs to fill out the forms, self-consciously pulling her hood up and drawing her knees into her chest to lay the clipboard on. Moments after she did so, the clinic door flew open, and a very familiar person breezed through the waiting room and straight to the receptionist's desk. The blonde girl ducked her head a bit more to avoid Maori's gaze, and continued to fill out the sheets.

"I just wanted to make sure my D&C appointment was still at 3:30," Maori's voice was oddly devoid of the usual uppity, snotty tone that it usually carried when she spoke to Marron, Bra, and Pan at school each day, "it is, isn't it?"

"Yes, Miss Peechum, your dilation and curettage is still at 3:30," Clara responded, and then she spoke in a low voice, "my dear, are you sure this is what you want to do? There are other options; you don't have to go through with this. A decision of this magnitude will stay with you for the rest of your life. Are you sure abortion is the way you want to go?"

"I'm positive, ma'am," Maori responded in a despondent tone, "I _can't_ go to school pregnant, Miss Clara, and my parents will disown me if I tell them about this, so I really don't have a choice. My reputation would be ruined."

"Alright, then," Clara's voice was filled with disappointment, "it's your body and your conscience, then. If you don't plan on waiting around, then I can give you a ring thirty minutes before your appointment if you'd like."

"Thank you that would be wonderful." The young girl nodded once, "I'll be back soon."

"Take care, dearie."

The door swung shut behind Maori, and Marron peeped over her knees to watch her car leave the lot through the window next to the door, mind reeling with the things she'd overheard. Maori was _pregnant_? She was planning on getting an _abortion_? Just the thought of willingly killing the innocent life within her sent a wave of revulsion running through the young Chestnut.

Sure, the baby wasn't planned, but the circumstances of its conception weren't its fault, it wouldn't be fair to take out the blame for something you willingly participated in on the child… and besides… the baby was a piece of her and Uub, combined into one little body. She would never forgive herself if she killed the baby for no good reason other than to keep what happened between them a secret.

_Besides… I already told Pan that we'd had sex,_ Marron rationed, _so if I started acting weird, weirder, then she'd know something else happened_.

"I'm back, Mom," a calm female voice spoke up from somewhere behind the desk, "any walk-ins?"

"There's a young girl named Natsu Bellum that came in for an ultrasound," Clara responded quietly, "she's in the waiting area, filling out the forms I gave her."

"These fake names are getting more obvious by the day," the doctor drawled, "I'll go on and get the equipment ready. Did the girl who wanted the D&C come in again?"

"Miss Peechum? Yes, she just left a few minutes before you got here," Clara's voice was sad, "it's easy to see that the poor thing doesn't want the abortion, but she's too scared of what everyone else will think to not go through with it."

Marron, now finished with her forms, hesitated for a moment or two before approaching the desk, trying her best to make it seem like she hadn't heard a thing they'd been saying. The doctor, whose nametag read Christina Morgan-Lyre, was a tall, statuesque woman with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. Her hair was pinned up in a bun at the nape of her neck, and she was dressed in a pair of pink scrubs.

"Hello," Christina greeted Marron politely, "I'm Doctor Christina Morgan-Lyre. You can call me Doctor Christie. You've already met my mother, Clara. I'll be doing your ultrasound today."

"Nice to meet you, I'm M-Natsu. Natsu Bellum."

"You can use your real name, you know," Doctor Christie smiled as she took the clipboard from Marron, "who are we going to tell? Even if you did tell us, it's doctor-patient confidentiality. I'm legally bound not to tell anyone anything that you don't want me to."

"I'm Marron," the daughter of Krillin surrendered, "Marron Chestnut."

"You look like a Marron," the older woman observed, "go on through the door there. There's a restroom just inside, go in and change into one of the gowns there. Everything off, including underwear. We also need a urine sample."

"Underwear, too? Why?"

"A vaginal examination to make sure your body is developing properly to support the baby," Christina explained, "I'll be in the second examination room on the right, getting everything ready for you, okay?"

"Mmhm," the nervous teen nodded and scurried through the door, and into the restroom.

Once in the bathroom, Marron noticed a row of empty plastic cups with white lids on a shelf above the toilet and, adjacent to this shelf, another shelf with a few folded up gowns in various colors. She removed her sweats and underwear, grabbed a cup, and perched on the toilet, careful filling the cup to the best of her ability. Once she was done, she placed the cup on the counter by the sink, washed her hands thoroughly, and grabbed a pink gown from the second shelf. She stripped herself of her pullover, shirt, bra, and pulled her hair up in a bun.

"Alright," she pulled the gown on, opening in front, and tied it closed, "let's do this." Marron left the bathroom in her socks and padded down the short hallway to the second examination room, holding the plastic cup gingerly in a bag. Christie took the cup from her when she entered the room and gave it to her mother to run the proper tests, and then gestured to the bed, "lie down and get comfortable. How many months ago did you have intercourse?"

"Two," Marron responded quietly, scooting onto the bed, "give or take a day."

"Is this your first ultrasound?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright then," the doctor nodded once, unfolding the stirrups at the end of the bed, "place your feet up here, and I'm going to administer a bit of local anesthetic. Vaginal exams aren't the most pleasant things, so we'll try to make it as bearable as possible. After this is all said and done, we'll get you some prenatal vitamins, alright?"

"Okay," Marron nodded in agreement, and then jerked as the woman began applying the numbing agent, "that's cold."

"Sorry, I should've waited for it to get room temperature first," Doctor Christie apologized, "so… tell me, what are your plans regarding the baby?" The younger blonde woman bit her lip, "I know that abortion isn't an option for me… I just can't see how killing an unborn child is the right thing to do. Maybe adoption or maybe I'll keep it. My parents probably won't be pleased."

"Ah, parents, of course," The doctor began preparing the scope to examine Marron's lower regions, "they can be a bit over reactive when it comes to situations like this. It's like they forget the influx of hormones that all teenagers have, and, sometimes, you can get caught up in the heat of the moment. My mother was only sixteen when she got pregnant with me, and her parents… well, I don't consider myself to have maternal grandparents. Let's just put it that way."

"They were that upset?"

"My mother's parents were upstanding people in the community of Orange Star City before it became Satan City," Christie explained, "my mother met this guy and they had a fling over the summer. She was young, she thought what they had was real love, but it wasn't. The guy left her as soon as she told him she was pregnant, and her parents sent her out here to Pepper City to stay with her grandparents. Haven't seen or heard from them since. Feeling numb yet?"

"A bit, yeah," the blonde girl nodded, somewhat distracted by her thoughts. _Is what Uub and I have really a fling? I'm only seventeen, after all… I'm not old enough to know what I want in life. What if Uub leaves me because of the baby?_

*after the examination*

"Everything's in good order," Doctor Chrissie carefully put the instruments she'd used to the side to be cleaned and sanitized properly, and then laid a towel over the top of Marron's thighs, pulling her gown up so her stomach was completely bare, "now, let's see what's going on with the baby." She grabbed a tube of gel and squeezed a generous amount of it onto Marron's smooth belly, "you're only two months in, so there won't be much to see just yet. Most of the defining features don't become clear until the third month, but you never know."

The doctor grabbed the transceiver, turned the machine on, and placed the smooth, rounded tool against Marron's stomach, rubbing the gel around and bringing an image up on the screen. It was a small, oddly shaped bubble of black against a sea of light grey, with an odd looking little white creature-thing floating inside of it. The teenager felt a wave of powerful, unidentifiable emotion come over her as she gazed at the little figure that rested within her womb, and her eyes began to warm with tears.

"Miss Chestnut," Doctor Christie began, leaning closer to the screen, "do twins run in your family?"

"Yes… on my mother's side, why?" Oh Kami, was she having twins?

"Well, I'm not trying to alarm you, but," she traced the edge of the black bubble, "there may be another baby hiding behind the first… or it could be the screen playing tricks on us. Unfortunately, I won't be able to confirm anything until you're further along."

"Okay," Marron nodded, reeling from the revelation, still staring at the teeny creature that had, somehow, made her heart feel like it was overflowing, bursting with some emotion she couldn't quite place, "this is… this is unreal." She reached out with a shaking hand to touch the screen, and the tears began to flow down her cheeks, "that's the baby?"

"Yes, ma'am." Christie smiled knowingly, "it's amazing isn't it? To be able to see a budding new life?"

"It really is," the younger woman nodded slowly, tears steady falling, "it really is."

*after the appointment*

"Here are a few photos," Clara laid a small white envelope on the counter, "here's a prescription for the vitamins you'll need, you can get them all filled at the pharmacy across the way for 800 zeni, and now I need the 2000 fee."

Marron fished out her wallet and laid two 1000 zeni bills in the woman's hand, taking the envelope and prescription and tucking them into her bag, "thank you, so much."

"You're absolutely welcome, dearie," the older woman smiled sweetly, "feel free to come back for your next appointment or if you need anything. You seem like you've got a decent head on your shoulders, but don't worry, even the best of us fall short sometime. Do your parents know yet?"

"I haven't told them," she responded, "I wanted to figure out how to tell them first… and I needed to make sure that the pregnancy tests I took weren't false positives. I didn't want to stir up anything over nothing. Now I need to figure that out."

"I don't know how to help you, but I wish you luck when you do tell them," Clara reached out to pat Marron's arm gently, "is the… father still in the picture?"

"My boyfriend? Yes, he is." The blonde teenager nodded once, and then bit her lip, "he doesn't know either."

"I hope to Kami that he's an honorable young man, dear girl," the older woman squeezed Marron's hand gently, "you're the kind of girl who deserves only the best that life has to offer you. I wish you luck on your journey; I speak from experience when I say it can be quite difficult depending on the circumstances. Hurry on across the street and get that prescription filled. It's nearly two-thirty."

_I do too…_ Marron thanked the woman once again and hurried out of the clinic. Once she was in the lot, she uncapsulated her car, climbed in, and drove the short distance across the way to get the prescription for the vitamins filled. While she waited for the doctor to finish filling the bottles with the vitamins she required, she pulled out her phone and, with bated breath, dialed Uub's number. After the second ring, the former Majin answered pleasantly.

"_Hey, Maz-chan, what's up?_"

"Hey, Uub-kun," Marron whispered, wincing at his sweet greeting, "do you think we can meet up at our ice cream parlor?"

"_Uh, sure,_" Uub responded, "_I leave the dojo at two-thirty_," he sounded concerned, "_babe, you sound a bit off, is something wrong?_"

"It's… we need to talk." Her voice was resigned, "something's come up, and… I don't know how it's going to affect us."

"_Okay, I'll see you then._"

The call disconnected, and Marron dropped her phone in her purse, knowing that there was no turning back now. Even if she decided not to tell him yet, there was no way he'd let it go, especially now that he'd heard her over the phone. She stood up when her name was called, paid the 800 zeni, and put the bag of vitamins in her bag before leaving the pharmacy for her car. The overwhelmed girl tossed her purse in the passenger seat and backed out of her spot, pulling out onto the street and heading back towards Satan City.

Beth-Maries Ice Cream held many of her and Uub's happiest memories. Their first date for one, as well as their first kiss and the first time they'd told each other that they loved one another. Now… now all of that was going to be put to the test, and the Chestnut wasn't so sure that their relationship was strong enough to overcome it.

*at the parlor*

"_I love you, Uub Majuubi,_" _Marron whispered, leaning across the table to kiss him on the lips, "I always have, and I always will." The dark skinned warrior smiled into the kiss and caressed his girlfriend's cheek lovingly, "I love you, too, Marron Chestnut. Always." The blonde girl pulled away, smiling, and grabbed her straw and began sipping at their shared sundae again. Uub chuckled and captured his straw with his lips again, eyeing the blonde beauty sitting across the table from him with a cheeky smirk. She giggled around her straw and continued to drink…_

"Uub?"

The sound of his girlfriend's quiet voice brought him out of his reverie, and he looked up from his chocolate malt. Marron stood alongside the table, clutching the strap of her cross body bag tightly in her small hands. Her ice blue eyes were filled with fear, and her face was pale. A wave of worry washed over him, and he jumped up to pull out her seat for her.

"Hey, sweet heart," he murmured, helping her sit, "what happened?"

"_Kami_," she whispered, "_give me strength_. Uub, I just got back from a doctor's appointment, and… why is this so _hard_?" Marron waited for him to sit down, "nothing's seriously wrong with me, I'm just… I'm—"

* * *

><p><strong>Bam! Cliffy! So, did she tell him, or didn't she? Your choice.<strong>

**Option A: Marron ends up spilling the beans.**

**Option B: Pan, Bra, Trunks, and Goten show up and Marron is forced to put off sharing the '**_**good news**_**'.**

**Choose wisely!**

_**CloudSpires1295**_


	5. Outside of Reality

**Okay… let's see what's going to happen.**

* * *

><p>"—pregnant."<p>

Marron took a deep breath, closing her eyes as relief washed over her. At last, she'd finally told Uub the news, and now… now she had to wait and see what his reaction was going to be. Wait… why was she relieved? She didn't know how he was going to react! Scared beyond belief, the daughter of Krillin peeked up at her boyfriend through her lashes.

Uub was pale beneath his deep tan, and his brown eyes were wide as he stared at her. His fist, resting clenched on the tabletop, was shaking. He took a deep lungful of air and exhaled before regarding her with strangely emotionless eyes. He spoke in an angry tone, "Marron… you told me you were sure that you weren't," the former Majin's fist shook even more, "_pregnant_ and now you're telling me that you are. Why'd you lie?"

"You wouldn't understand, you'd have to be in my shoes to understand," Marron responded, scared beyond her wits, "I was scared that you were going to up and leave me because you're not ready for kids."

"Marron—"

"_You_ said so yourself," she continued, "so excuse me for doing what I thought was best to keep our relationship from falling apart that much sooner—"

"By lying about it," Uub said slowly, "because that's _so_ much better than telling me the moment you knew for sure. How long has it been since then? _Three weeks_," he growled and raked a hand through his Mohawk, "I can't believe you, Marron, I thought you were better than this."

"Uub, I'm sorry," she reached out to touch his hand, but he yanked it out of her reach, causing tears to spring up in her eyes, "you have no idea how hard it was to keep it from you, but three weeks ago, I didn't even know for sure whether or not I was—"

"You had a hunch and didn't tell me... what else are you keeping from me, since you're being so _forthcoming_ today?"

"Why are you being so _cold_?" Marron demanded, "You think it's hard on _you_, what about _me_? I'm seventeen, and my senior year has _barely_ even started and I've already ruined it for myself, so you could at _least_ be a little more considerate considering how _easy_ you have it. You don't have to carry the result of our stupidity and hormones under your shirt for the next seven months."

"I don't know, maybe it's because my girlfriend, who I once thought was the most truthful, trustworthy person in the world, thought that she was _pregnant_, found out that she was _pregnant_, and didn't think to tell me about _any_ of it."

"I took the test last night and went to a doctor after school today," Marron shot back, "you're the first person I've told, so you can quit the act. You don't know what it's been like for me for the past two months. Stop being so insensitive."

"Marron, I'm sorry… but this," Uub waved a hand between the two of them, "I don't think it's going to work. I just… I can't… you can't expect to spring this on me and expect me to instantly become the perfect dad. I'm not ready for this, I'm sorry."

"Uub, I'm not getting an abortion," she responded softly, "and I'm not giving the baby up for adoption. If you want to continue this relationship, then you have to know that the baby and I are a package deal. When I saw it on the ultrasound screen, I knew I couldn't possibly give it up," Marron looked up at him with resolute eyes, "I love it. I didn't know it was possible to love something as much as I do this baby, but now I do… and I'm not giving it up. I'm sorry and I love you, but I can't, not even for you."

When Uub didn't speak, she reached into her purse and fished out the little white envelope, "here," she removed one of the glossy ultrasound prints, "even though you don't want this, you should still be able to see the miracle we created. I'm not trying to guilt trip you or anything; I just thought you'd like to see your child."

"So this is it, then, huh?" the eldest Majuubi's voice was stiff, devoid of emotion, "we're done."

"You know I love you, Uub," Marron mumbled, "and you can always come back to me when you think you're ready, but I can't promise you that I'll still be waiting for you when you do. I still have to tell my parents," her gaze drifted back down to the table, "I guess I could tell them today, too, get it over with," her eyes burned with tears, and she whispered, "_kami, what am I going to do_," and then smiled weakly at her… she wasn't sure what he was anymore, "I guess I'll see you… whenever."

"Right," he looked back down at his malt, "bye, Marron."

"Bye, Uub." Marron took her cue and left the table, biting her lip to keep the tears that wanted to fall at bay. The moment she was enclosed in her car, hidden from the world by the tinted windows, her will crumbled, and she laid her cheek against her steering will and sobbed like a baby. The pain coursing through her chest was so unbearable. She'd expected this; what 23 year-old man wanted to be tied down with a child when they still had a life to live? She was stupid enough to hope, despite what she knew, that Uub would prove her wrong.

_He says he loves me, but he doesn't want anything to do with me because I'm pregnant… what kind of love is that?_

"I have to go home," Marron whispered through her tears, "might as well get it over with." She cried for a few moments longer, and then, once she regained some semblance of composure, she backed out of her parking space and began making her way back to Kame Island, inwardly bemoaning what her parents' reactions to her news would be. If she'd bothered to look in her rearview mirror, she would've seen the haunted dark-skinned young man standing on the sidewalk outside of Beth-Marie's, clutching the glossy ultrasound photo in his hand as he watched her go.

*Dinner that night*

"_How was school today, Angel?" Krillin questioned as he scooped a helping of broccoli onto his plate. The family of three, plus Oolong and Master Roshi, was seated at the table, partaking in the meal that Juuhachi had prepared. Marron, who was in the middle of pushing the last bits of her salmon fillet around her plate, looked up at his question, "fine."_

"_Doesn't sound fine." Juuhachi raised a brow, nibbling at her own salmon, "did something happen?"_

_Oh, nothing, other than the fact that one of my teachers knows I'm knocked up, I overheard that the school whore is pregnant and had an abortion today, confirmed that I'm pregnant, told Uub, basically got dumped by Uub, and now I have to tell you guys. Other than that, a perfectly normal school day._

"_Uub and I broke up," the teen heard herself say without thinking it through, "how's that for 'something'?" A wave of anger formed in her gut. She'd spent the better part of the day between her getting home and dinner crying over Uub, and now… now she was angry. Intensely so. Her fists clenched around her utensils and she dropped them on her plate, completely ignorant of the rather loud clatter they made._

"_Marron, what?" her mother looked appalled, "Why?"_

"_Because I'm preg—"_

Marron sat up in bed, hyperventilating from her vivid dream. She'd come home from the ice cream parlor and went directly up to her room to take a nap, and now she was having weird dreams. She sighed and peered out of her window, seeing that the sun was nearly down, meaning dinner would be ready soon. Despite the events of the day, the young girl felt strangely numb and detached after her nap. Before she'd gone to sleep, she'd been a mess of tears and heart ache, but all of that was in the back of her mind.

"Marron," Juuhachi peered into Marron's room, "dinner's ready. Hope you're hungry for salmon."

"Salmon's fine," the younger woman crawled out of bed, "I'm hungry enough to eat anything right now. Are Uncle Oolong and Grandpa Roshi eating dinner with us?" Juu shook her head in the negative, "I made them go out to eat, even though I'm not sure that was a good idea in regards to the female population."

"Great," the blonde teen's voice was filled with false enthusiasm, "I'm ready to eat."

The mother and daughter duo made their way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Krillin was diligently setting the table for three. The former monk smiled at the sight of his only child and his wife and pulled back two of the seats so the women could sit. Marron smiled and took a seat at the table, scooting up to be closer to the table's edge. Juuhachi took her seat, shooting a small smile at her husband, and grabbed the dish with the salmon in it so she could place a piece on each of their plates.

"How was school today, Maz?" Krillin asked quietly, spooning some brussel sprouts onto his plate, "anything interesting happen today?"

"Nope, just a regular school day," the amount of false enthusiasm in her voice was appalling and sickening, "I can't wait to graduate, really."

"That's my girl, always looking towards her goal," the former monk smiled at his only child and forked a piece of the steaming salmon, sticking it in his mouth, "wow, Juu, this salmon tastes awesome. Lemon pepper?"

"Yeah, mom," Marron ate a bit of her filet, "it's really good."

"It's lemon pepper and a hint of onion powder," Juu responded, a hint of pink blush in her cheeks, "and thank you. Tomorrow's Friday, Marron, anything planned with Pan and Bra?"

"Uh… no, not that I know of, but, knowing Bra, she'll probably spring something on Pan and I at school tomorrow," the blonde teen rolled her eyes skywards, and then faintly grimaced as she remembered what she'd been meaning to say, "Uh, I…"

"What, Maz?" Krillin looked up at his daughter, "something going on?"

"I… I love you guys," she bit the inside of her cheek at her hesitance, "really, I do. I don't say it often enough, but I really love you guys."

The two parents shared a look, and the former monk raised a brow, "don't tell me… did you get a scratch on your new car? Already? You haven't even had it a day, Angel! That's almost a worse track record than _Yamcha's_."

"No, I didn't scratch my car," Marron shook her head, "I just… I never say that I love you guys enough, and I wanted to make sure that you guys knew that I love you."

"Your idiot of a father thought you were buttering us up for some bad news," Juu told her daughter softly, reaching over to gently smack Krillin on the top of his balding head, "ignore him, he doesn't know what he's saying half the time."

"_Juu!_"

_I was buttering you up for some bad news… I just can't… I can't say it, not yet_.

Marron smiled wanly at each of her parents in turn, basking in the familial glow of love and comfort flowing around the small dinner table. She couldn't imagine shattering the aura by making her announcement, so she remained quiet, forced herself to smile and laugh, hiding the fact that, inside, she felt as though she were dying. The only thing that kept her afloat, and just barely, was the powerful love she felt for the tiny, innocent little being growing within her.

"Did you like your car, Maz?" her father spoke again, "how'd it ride? Bulma said it should be pretty smooth."

"Yeah, it rode pretty good. No turbulence or anything."

"It was actually manufactured for new families," the former monk continued on, "Bulma designed it with babies in mind, so it's a really safe model. That's why I picked it, so I wouldn't have to worry too much about you being out on the road on your own. I think she's getting anxious about Trunks giving her some grandbabies, honestly." He chuckled, not noticing that his daughter had gone slightly pale. It was hard to make out against her creamy complexion, but her icy blue eyes shown with fear as she stared at her father.

"I'm full, Momma," Marron said at last, standing up and gathering her dishes quickly, "I think I'm going to head up to bed now."

"Alright," Juuhachi raised a brow at her daughter's actions, but didn't comment on them, "good night, darling."

"Night, Momma, Poppa," the teen kissed both of her parents on the cheeks, hurriedly washed her dishes, and all but fled up the stairs to her room, hardly hazarding a glance back. The two parents shared a quiet, curious glance, but didn't comment on their daughter's rushed actions, instead finishing dinner in silence.

Upstairs, Marron, now enclosed in the safety and privacy of her bedroom, burst apart at the seams. The anguished girl curled up in a ball on her bed, whimpering and sobbing as the events of the day ran through her mind. Never before had she yearned for the comforting, strong, protective embrace of Uub than she did in that moment, and the very real possibility that she may never have that again was hitting her hard. Her tears of fear and yearning ran long into the night, only barely muffled when she heard her parents retiring to their bedroom for the night, and didn't cease until she fell into a fitful, restless sleep at around two in the morning.

*later that morning*

Juuhachi peered into her daughter's bedroom that morning, and, to her surprise, found the bed empty, and the bathroom door closed. She could hear the shower running within and smiled. She furrowed her brow at her daughter's untidy room, probably due to the hectic, fast-paced senior year road Marron was currently on, and decided that she'd spend the day cleaning it up for her. Nodding to herself, the android left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Marron emerged from the shower moments later, wrapped in a blue towel with her blonde hair hanging down her back in a damp braid. The pregnant girl snatched a few pins from her vanity and pinned the end of the braid up on top of her head, and then pursed her lips at her clothing. All the clothes she'd bought at the beginning of the year wouldn't fit her now, at least the jeans and the majority of the shirts wouldn't. There were a few loose fitting tunics and tops that she'd selected that were viable, however.

After a small debate, the blonde teen decided on a dark grey merle tunic with a wide, cowl neckline, a pair of black tights, and the boots that she'd worn on her first day of senior year. The tunic fit snuggly to her bust and billowed out over her abdomen to fall to her knees, so it was more of a dress. She left her hair in the bun on top of her head, accessorized with a pair of large pearl studs, the necklace from her first day, and a black metal ring on her right ring finger, and applied some eyeliner, a bit of shadow, and some pearlescent pink lip gloss.

Satisfied with her appearance, Marron grabbed her pack, pocketed her phone and her keys, and headed down to grab a quick bite to eat. The window over the sink was, unfortunately for her, open, letting in that nauseating scent from the incoming tide. It now smelled more like rotting fish than it did like saltwater mingling with sand, at least to _her_ nose. She gave a quick lie as an excuse, saying that she was meeting the girls at a coffee shop for breakfast before school, and quickly left Kame House in her car.

_Thank Kami… I can't take that awful scent; I almost vomited in front of Mom…_

By the time she reached the mainland, her nausea was nothing more than a dreadful, faded memory, and she swung by a coffee shop to pick up a Vanilla Latte and two cream cheese muffins for her breakfast, nibbling on the muffins as she drove to the school. When she pulled into a spot near where her friends parked, she still had a little over thirty minutes to kill, and sat in her car, eating her breakfast and drinking her latte in peaceful silence. She didn't notice the brilliant orange air car pulling in alongside her until the driver knocked on the window, startling her.

"Hey, Panny," Marron spoke as she let her window down, "you nearly made me drop my muffin."

"You went to the coffee shop and didn't tell me?" the Son demanded, "rude. How'd your appointment go yesterday? Everything checked out okay?"

"Yes," the young Chestnut responded, "I'm fine. Everything's perfectly fine. Want to sit with me while we wait for the bell to ring?" she unlocked the passenger door and smiled as Pan made her way around to the other side and got in, placing her backpack on the floor between her feet. The daughter of Gohan bit her lip and looked over at her friend, "Trunks saw Uub yesterday, and he said that he was acting weird. What's up with that?"

At the mention of Uub, Marron was suddenly on high alert and her gaze shifted downwards, towards the muffin in her right hand, "Um… I…" she bit her lip as tears began to pool in her lower lids, "Panny… we broke up yesterday."

"_What?_" Pan breathed, "but you guys were doing so well… what happened?"

"The whole thing on the beach… it just got between us," the blonde teen partially lied, "I thought things were getting better, but… a lot of insecurities, suspicions, and other things came out of the dark the other day, and we realized that we'd made too big a step forward in our relationship, and… and we just weren't ready to deal with the repercussions."

_Actually, I told him I was pregnant with his baby, despite telling him just weeks prior that I was certain that I wasn't pregnant, despite having suspicions that I actually was pregnant, and he told me that he wasn't ready for fatherhood and that he didn't trust me anymore_.

**(A/N: No, Uub didn't actually say that he didn't trust her, but it was heavily implied.)**

"Oh, I'm sorry, hon," Pan murmured in response, "how are you feeling?"

"I don't know," this response was brutally honest, "yesterday, it hurt like hell and now… I'm not sure. I just feel so numb to it right now. I'm not mad at him, though, we were nowhere close to third base before… before _that_ happened, so I can understand him being insecure."

"I wish I knew what to say," the Son bit her lip, "just… just hang in there. On another subject," she smiled at her friend, "your outfit is _very_ cute today."

"Thank you," Marron responded, weakly smiling in response, "you look nice, too."

Pan was dressed in a wine colored v-neck top with three quarter sheer sleeves, a pair of white jeans, and some black studded motorcycle boots. Her short, curly pixie cut was all over her head, she'd obviously finger combed it while it was still damp from her morning shower, she accompanied the outfit with a black leather jacket, dark red lip stain, intense black liquid liner and deep crimson eye shadow.

"Thanks," Pan looked down at her watch, "we've got four minutes till the bell, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, um," the blonde teen looked concerned, "where's Blue?"

"Oh, she got carted off on an impromptu college visit in England early this morning," the daughter of Gohan shrugged, "I was invited, too, but I declined. That's what happened when you're the daughter or granddaughter of someone extremely famous. People desperately want you at their schools, and they offer full ride scholarships like nobody's business. I know I can pay for my schooling, so I'd rather they'd give it to someone who really needs it. I think Bra just went just to be going, she's already got her eye on some school in Milan."

"Alright then," Marron spoke softly, "let's go."

*meanwhile*

Juuhachi placed two empty laundry baskets on the floor in Marron's room and began loading her dirty clothes, both from the floor and the hamper in her bathroom, moving faster than the human eye could follow to get it done. Once the baskets were filled with her daughter's lights and darks, the android hefted the basket with the lighter clothing up on her hip and headed downstairs to the laundry room and, after putting the clothing in, started it up on the proper setting.

Once the clothing was in the washer, Juuhachi headed back up to Marron's room and went into the bathroom to start cleaning up there. As she worked, the three bottles of prenatal vitamins in the medicine cabinet slipped past her sharp eyes, too focused on the task at hand.

*Trigonometry*

Marron's stomach began to twist and turn, churning with nausea as she worked on the classwork they'd been assigned that morning. The blonde girl nibbled on the inside of her bottom lip and continued to work the problems, unaware of the sweat beginning to bead on her brow… or the very slight greenish tint that had begun to form on her full cheeks. However, as time wore on, and her stomach continued to feel worse and worse, the sweat and sickly green coloring grew more noticeable.

A note slid onto Marron's desk from Pan's direction, and the blonde girl opened it with shaking hands.

'_Are you alright? You're shaking and your face is starting to look really green._'

Marron hastily scribbled a reply, no trusting herself not to puke if she tried to mouth her response, '_Not okay. Feel like puking._'

Pan's eyes widened when she read the response, and she mouthed, '_want me to tell Mrs. C?_' the blonde girl nodded wordlessly, pressing a palm to her sweaty forehead and forcibly swallowing back the bile trying to rush up her esophagus. Those cream cheese muffins were _not_ agreeing with her.

"Marron," Mrs. Coffey made her way over to Marron's desk, and spoke softly, "go on to the bathroom down the hall. I'll tell the nurse where you are, and then you can head home if you want to." The blonde teen didn't need telling twice, she hurriedly scooted out of her desk and sprinted from the room, headed down to the girl's bathroom at the end of the hall.

Barely making it into a stall, the petite blonde collapsed to her knees, threw the seat up, and released the bile that was fighting to free itself from her stomach, having been rebelling against her harshly. As she retched, Marron heard the door open, and then soft, familiar hands were brushing stray wisps of hair out of her face, and a low, alto voice was whispering comforts. The young Chestnut was still having trouble coping with the fact that she'd had morning sickness at school.

"Come on, sweet pea," Pan whispered, helping Marron to her feet once she'd finished emptying her stomach, "let's get you to the nurse's office. I'll see if she'll let me take you home."

*in the nurse's office* **(A/N: Credit for nurse Poppy is due to J.K. Rowling.)**

"That's funny," Nurse Poppy Pomfrey murmured as she took Marron's temper, "you're hardly feverish, only a degree or two over the normal temperature that you should be… are you still nauseous, dear?"

"A little churning," Marron responded softly, "I don't think I'm going to throw up again."

"Alright, but I'll have to send you home regardless, dear girl," Nurse Pomfrey grabbed a pad and scribbled something down, "I'll let your teachers know that you won't be present due to illness and then your friend can drive you home." She paused, eyeing Marron with her clear blue eyes, "your face seems rounder than it should be. Allergic reaction, perhaps?"

"I don't have any allergies, Miss Pomfrey," the blonde teen responded firmly, sensing the nurse's suspicion, "I think I'm ready to head home." That seemed to snap the elderly nurse out of her curiosity, and she nodded, "quite right, my dear," she waved a hand towards the door, "your friend is waiting outside with your things. Have a good day, Miss Chestnut."

"You too, Miss Pomfrey." Marron scurried out of the room as naturally as possible, and smiled sheepishly at Pan, who looked alarmed at her speedy exit, "hey, Panny."

"Hey," the Son stood up and handed Marron her backpack, "here you go. Ready to go?"

"Yeah," the blonde girl tucked a hair behind her ear, "I think I need to lie down for a bit." With that, the two girls headed out of the nurse's office and down the hall to the doors that led out to the student parking lot.

*at the Chestnut home*

As the wife of Krillin reentered her daughter's bedroom, carrying a basket filled with her clean light colored clothing, she dropped the basket on the bed and sat down next to it and began folding. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something white peeking out from beneath her daughter's pillow and, frowning, dropped the clothing she was holding and flipped the pillow over. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell at the odd items she beheld.

*elsewhere*

"If you have the plague, I'm probably going to have to disinfect my car," Pan drawled as they cruised through the streets of Satan City, "want to stop at the coffee shop and get some tea with honey? It'll help settle your stomach."

"_Harhar_, _poor_ car," Marron drawled in response, "and yeah, tea sounds perfect."

"Peppermint tea with a hint of ginger, lavender, chamomile, and honey," the Son murmured, "sounds weird, but both peppermint and ginger are known for calming nauseated stomachs. It'll do you some good. The lavender and chamomile will help you get a good nap in while the peppermint and ginger soothe your stomach."

"What's the honey, chopped liver?"

"No, it's a sweetener, you silly goose," Pan rolled her eyes skyward, "duh."

Marron's phone vibrated in her school bag, situated on her lap, and the blonde girl, mid-laughter, reached into her bag to get the screen was a glow with a new text from her mother that simply said, '_we need to talk_.' Frowning at the cryptic message, the blonde teen decided not to respond and tucked her phone back into the inner pocket of her sack.

_Wonder what that's about_, she mused as Pan pulled into the parking lot of a tea shop that the three of them sometimes went to irregularly, _she probably got a call from the school and wants to know what happened to me, that's all_. The heavy sense of foreboding that began to hover over her said otherwise.

*Kame Island*

"Juu?" Krillin peered into Marron's room, "oh, you're doing Maz's laundry for her? That's nice of you..." he trailed off awkwardly at the blank, somewhat hostile expression on the android's lovely face, "uh... Juu? Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"Krillin," Juuhachi murmured, "do you think... do you think that we're bad parents?"

"Well, um... we're certainly not the best, but I think we did better than we could've done, considering our circumstances," the balding former monk scratched at the top of his head, confused by the subject matter of the conversation, "is something wrong with Marron? What brought this on?"

"I brought Marron's light clothes back up here and started folding them, and then I found _these_," she lifted Marron's pillow, showing her husband the items she'd found beneath it, "Krillin, how could she be so careless?"

"I..." Krillin was rendered speechless, "I... don't know..."

"I'm going to talk to her when she gets home," Juu grabbed a familiar square envelope, "I want to know how long she was planning on hiding that fact that's she's pregnant."

**(A/N: Under the pillow is _clearly_ not the best spot for a few positive pregnancy tests and an envelope with ultrasound photos, now is it?)**

*later*

"Thanks for the ride, Pan," Marron climbed out of the car carefully, clutching the travel cup, half-filled with tea, in her hand, "and the tea. I feel sleepy already." The Son smiled softly in return, "anything for my friends, you know," she winked, and then, raising a brow in question, glanced towards the Kame House, "your mom's in the door waiting for you... she doesn't look too happy."

"Maybe you should take off, Panny," the blonde girl responded, "I don't think she knew I was coming home early."

"Alright," Pan nodded and waved, "I'll see you tomorrow at school if you're feeling up to it."

"Okay," Marron shut the car door and stepped back, "bye, Panny, love you."

"Love you, too!"

Marron watched the orange air car lift up off of the sand, kicking up small waves of loosely packed dirt, and then shoot off across the water, probably headed to the 409 Mountain Area. She bit her lip anxiously and began the trek across the sand to her home. Her mother was standing stoically in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, and a cool look in her eye.

"Hi, Momma, I-"

"Marron," Juuhachi cut in, "would you mind telling me what _this_ is?" Uncrossing her arms, the mother of Marron produced a rather familiar little white envelope and held it out to her child with a look of contempt and disappointment. The younger blonde felt her stomach fall to her feet as she stared at the envelope, completely horrified by the horror show that was unfolding before her very eyes.

"Well?" Juu questioned sharply, "I'm _waiting_."

"Uh, I... uh... um..." Words failed her, and the backs of her eyes stung with burgeoning tears as she looked over her mother's shoulder and saw her father standing in the hall, the picture of parental disappointment.

_First Uub and now my parents... Oh Dende, please help me..._

* * *

><p><strong>Well, might as well get that all out on the table now. Does the pace seem kind of fast to you, or is it just me and my insecurities? Poor Maz, everything is hitting her so hard and fast. You know the drill, leave your opinion and do look forward to the next installment.<strong>

_"I thought you were better than this, Marron," the angry android waved a hand at the ultrasound photos, "how could you be so foolish and careless? This is the most important school year of your life and you're ruining it!"_

_"Momma, please..." Marron whimpered, tears flowing down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, it was an accident. I never meant to-"_

_"But you did, and now you're suffering the consequences," Juuhachi's voice, once loud and angry, had gone deathly calm, "I don't know who you are, because _my_ Marron wouldn't have landed herself in this situation," the words, spoken in a soft tone, hit the teen much harder than they would've if her mother had yelled them instead, "_my_ Marron isn't some stupid, lovesick girl who let things go too far."_

_"Momma-"_

_"Don't." Juuhachi stood from the kitchen table, "I don't want to hear it. I'm done."_

* * *

><p><strong>A little something for you guys to look forward to. Stay tuned!<strong>

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


	6. A Light at the End of the Tunnel

**Might as well get this showdown over with, huh? Chapter five, everyone... I'm hoping to get to the point where she leaves for Pan's house so the pace can slow down somewhat because it is a bit fast. Oh, and there was a slight typo last chapter. Pan said she'd see Marron at school the next day, and I'd already indicated that the day was a Friday. So, pretend like she said next Monday.**

* * *

><p>"How long were you planning on hiding this from us?" Juuhachi demanded from her spot across the kitchen table from her daughter, who'd been mostly mute from the time she'd confronted her outside until now, when they'd moved inside to the kitchen table, "this explains so much. How could you be so stupid, to jeopardize your future like this?"<p>

"I made a mistake," Marron mumbled, "Uub and I made a mistake. I'm sorry-"

"Sorry, are you?" the android demanded, "well, '_sorry_' isn't going to change the fact that you're not going to be able to go to college now that you're having a child of your own. Having a child is a heavy responsibility, one that I know you're not ready for."

"You _know_?" the younger blonde suddenly hissed, her temper flaring, "how do you know what I'm ready for and what I'm not ready for? Yeah, I didn't mean to get knocked up this Summer, but at least I'm owning up to my mistake, and, last time I checked, that took responsibility to do."

"Owning up to it? So that's what you've been doing, hiding your pregnancy from us is your version of '_owning up to it_', hm?" the older woman's voice was venomous, "it seems like you were pretty ashamed of it to me, since you didn't bother to tell me yourself, and I had to find it out on my own-"

"Why were you even in my room in the first place?" Marron spat back, "and I'm not ashamed of my child, forgive me for being afraid of getting _this_ exact reaction from you. I'm only seventeen, I'm scared and basically playing this whole thing by ear, so excuse me for not being so forthcoming, it's not the most dinner-friendly conversation topic, now is it?"

"None of this would've happened if you'd kept your legs closed like any smart girl your age would've done," Juuhachi sneered back, "and now your future is ruined, all but destroyed for seven minutes of pleasure."

A wave of pain, icy and unbearably potent, rushed over the younger woman as her mother talked down to her, completely dousing her temper and forcing her to submit to her mother's disappointed rage. The pain of being, more or less, called a brainless whore by her own mother was _barely_ succeeded by the harsh rejection she'd been subjected to by Uub just a day prior. It was a deep, aching hurt, all the way down to her heart and soul, and the force it completely destroyed her defense.

"Juu," Krillin, silently watching the two women from the doorway, spoke up, "Juu, you're going too far."

"Oh, but Krillin, she already went _too far_," Juu responded coolly, watching her daughter's eyes begin to brim with tears, "now you want to cry, now that the fun's over and now you have to face the reality of what you did-"

"_Juu_." the balding monk warned, but he was completely ignored.

"I thought you were better than this, Marron," the angry android waved a hand at the ultrasound photos on the table, "how could you be so foolish and careless? This is the most important school year of your life and you're ruining it!"

"Momma, please..." Marron whimpered, tears flowing down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, it was an accident. I never meant to-"

"But you did, and now you're suffering the consequences," Juuhachi's voice, once loud and angry, had gone deathly calm, "I don't know who you are, because _my _Marron wouldn't have landed herself in this situation," the words, spoken in a soft tone, hit the teen much harder than they would've if her mother had yelled them instead, "_my _Marron isn't some stupid, lovesick girl who let things go too far. I don't know _you_ at all."

"Momma-"

"Don't." Juuhachi stood from the kitchen table, "I don't want to hear it. I'm done." Marron watched through tear-blurred eyes as her mother vanished upstairs, leaving her to sit at the table and weep bitterly from the pain and loneliness. Her father sighed and bit his lip, unsure of what to do. Sure, he was disappointed and upset with what Marron had done, but he still hated to see her in pain and crying.

"Marron, I'm disappointed," Krillin spoke quietly, "I'm not going to pretend like this mess you've gotten yourself into isn't as bad as it is, but I still love you, kiddo. I always will, no matter what, but," he shook his head sadly, "you could've done better than this, kid, I know you could've. I'm sorry." The former monk headed up the stairs behind his wife, no longer able to bear the pained sobs of his precious little girl.

Feeling so broken and so very alone in her situation, Marron forced herself up from the kitchen table and retreated to her room, biting her lip harshly to keep her sobs quiet. Tears dribbled over her lips and dripped off the edge of her small chin, soaking into her tunic as she entered her bedroom, clutching the envelope with the ultrasound pictures in it. The anguished girl curled up on her side on the bed and laid a gentle hand on the small mound between her hips.

"You're all I've got in this mess," she mumbled tearfully to the baby in her womb, "it'll be okay... I don't know how I know this, but I just do. Things just can't get any worse than they already are. They can only get better before they can get any worse. We'll make it through, and we'll have each other. I promise." The tears overcame her, and she gave in to them and fell into a restless sleep, fraught with sobs and desperate yearning for her parents' and Uub's support... something that it seemed like she'd never have.

**(A/N: She seems to be crying herself to sleep a lot... *cringe* don't worry, it'll get a bit better by the end of this chapter.)**

*the next day*

It was Hell.

When Marron finally mustered up the strength of mind and the courage to drag her miserable self out of bed and down the stairs to get some water to take her prenatal vitamins and some food to cushion the pills, she was met with stony silence from all parties. It was like she wasn't even there. Her mother was cooking breakfast at the stove, as normal as ever, but not once did she raise her head and acknowledge her daughter's presence. The lack of interaction sent a wave of pain flooding through her chest, and her tear ducts throbbed painfully as more tears tried to erupt.

Ignoring the urge to breakdown, the daughter of Krillin went to the fridge to grab herself a bottle of water and placed the bottles of prenatal vitamins on the counter next to it. There was really no point hiding the fact that she was pregnant anymore, at least around the house, and it came as somewhat of a relief. The young mother to-be grabbed the bag of bagels off of the counter and slid the halves of on into the toaster, keeping her back to the other occupants of kitchen. She could feel someone's gaze on her back, but she couldn't be sure whether or not it was her mother or her father staring at her.

When the bagels popped up from the toaster, she scurried across the kitchen to the fridge, sidestepping her mother as she did so, and procured the container of strawberry cream cheese, a paper towel, and a knife. She placed those items by the toaster and went back to grab the vitamin bottles and her water from next to the sink.

Juu, now finished cooking, placed two plates on the table, one for herself and one for Krillin, and Marron bit her lip against the bitter pain she felt, realizing her mother hadn't intended to cook for her. It didn't matter, she knew how to cook; Chichi had made sure that she, Pan, and Bra could do so, but it didn't change the fact that she was hurt by the fact that her mother was icing her out.

The blonde teen carefully iced her bagel with the pink, creamy mixture, wrapped the bagel in the paper towel, and returned the container of cream cheese and dropped the knife in the sink. She wasn't going to eat breakfast in here, where she clearly wasn't wanted. Pocketing her vitamins and grabbing her water, Marron scuttled out of the room and up the stairs to eat in the privacy of her bedroom.

"Juu," Krillin muttered, "you're really not going to cook for her? Honestly? That's taking it too far. She's still our daughter, you know."

"I don't want her to think that we support _that_," Juu responded in a cool tone, "and besides... she needs to learn how to fend for herself. She _does_ have a baby on the way, after all. Eat your eggs and be quiet." A faint gleam of remorse shown in her icy blue gaze, but it was immediately concealed by the disappointment she felt.

"You're not like this, Juu," the former monk spoke once more before beginning to eat his breakfast, "I know you aren't. I hope you realize that if you keep this up, she's just going to up and leave one day, and she's probably not going to want to come back to a place where her mother made her feel as though she were the worst person in the world."

"Yes, well I don't see you speaking to her either, so what's _your_ excuse?" The Android sneered in return, "I don't want to talk about this anymore, now _eat_."

*later*

"_Hey, Maz, what's up?_" Pan's voice filtered through the speaker of Marron's phone, along with Bra's raucous laughter. The two demis were probably at Pan's house or the CC dome, hanging out, while Marron was stuck in her room, isolated from the rest of the house's occupants.

"Stuck at home," the blonde responded in a mock-cheery tone, "Mom wasn't too pleased that I got sick at school, so..."

"_Oh..._" Bra hissed, "_but it's not your fault your stomach wasn't feeling good._"

_Actually, Bra, it kind of is_.

"Yeah, so I'm stuck here for now," Marron muttered, "what are you guys up to?"

"_Bra's trying to drag me off to do some 'retail therapy'_," Pan griped, and then began mimicking Bra's soprano voice, "_because you can never go too long without a decent shopping binge, after all._"

"_Shut up, Pan, I don't sound like that!_"

"_Yes, you do!_"

"_No, I don't!_"

_So that's what it's like to be an actual teenager... must be nice._ It had been ages, at least it felt like it had, since Marron had last felt like a teenager. Now she being forced to grow up, by her own hand no less, and become a responsible adult now that she was responsible for two lives. In the midst of it all, her friends were still as carefree and teenager-like as ever, leaving her drifting alone in the choppy sea of parent and adulthood. She knew she'd have to tell them, sooner or later, but she was hoping it would be the latter.

"..._ Maz, you okay over there?_" Pan's concerned voice spoke softly, "_you've been a little quiet. Is it really that bad? Do you want us to come over?_"

"I... uh..."

"_See you in a bit!_"

"Wait!"

Too late. The phone line was dead, and she could sense Pan and Bra flying in this direction. Her heart began to pound, and her palms began to sweat intensely with fear. What if her mother revealed her condition out of spite? What if her friends never looked at her the same way? What if they rejected her? She'd already been on the receiving end of two of those, and she didn't think she could bear another without completely losing it and breaking down. All she could do was sit and wait for her friends to arrive, and hope for the very best.

*downstairs*

Juuhachi opened the door and was surprised to see Pan and Bra standing on her doorstep, looking freshly windblown from their flight over. Both young girls smiled in greeting, "Hi, Auntie Juu! We came to see Maz, since she can't come to-"

"_Shut up_," Pan hissed, elbowing Bra in the side, and then smiled up at her pseudo-Aunt, "can we come in and see her?"

"Um, I don't see why not," the Android schooled her expression into a mockery of a welcoming smile, "she's upstairs in her room." As the duo walked past her, she couldn't help but wonder whether or not they knew about Marron's... _condition_. She didn't want to run the risk of them not knowing by asking them outright, she didn't want the news to reach Videl, Chichi, or Bulma, so she remained silent.

*upstairs*

"Your Mom seems pretty fine to me," Bra spoke as she and Pan barged into Marron's room, "so I don't know what you mean by her being upset."

"She didn't say anything... _weird_ to either of you, did she?" Marron inquired as Pan plopped onto her bed, "nothing cryptic or out of place?"

"No... why?"

"Just curious," the blonde responded, scooting up to sit up against the pillows at the headboard of her bed, "so... what's up?" Bra leaned over her and touched her cheek with her thumb, "you've been crying again... Uub?"

"Y-yeah," Marron stuttered slightly, "I just... I miss him. I wish none of that ever happened."

"None of what, because I am so out of the loop," the bluenette sat next to her blonde friend, "what exactly happened, because my brother didn't know anything except that you guys weren't dating anymore."

"Do you remember when we went down to the coast this past summer, and we ate dinner at that seafood restaurant on the Sea Wall?"

"Yes, you two went AWOL on us." Bra responded with a laugh, "what happened?"

"We went on a walk down the beach, and we came across this cozy little cove and sat down in the sand to watch the sun go down," Marron murmured as she recalled the romantic, yet sordid experience, "one thing led to another, Uub brought out some champagne, and... we ended up having sex that night."

Bra was utterly speechless, and Pan snorted bemusedly and waved a hand in front of her face, "Bra? Earth to Bra? Wake up, Missy, it's not the end of the world." the bluenette looked at the brunette girl incredulously, "you... you already knew..."

"Yes, she told me first because I'm more levelheaded than you are."

"Are _not_! I am _so_ levelheaded," Bra cried indignantly, "_see?_"

Marron raised a brow in question, "why are you yelling, then? Anyway, after that, things got a bit awkward, hence the reason why we didn't talk to each other for a month. When we did, we thought that everything was okay... but it wasn't. Things were too different, and neither of us knew where we stood with each other, so we called it quits."

"Wow... you swiped your V-card..."

"And I regret it like crazy, so don't think I'm enjoying the lack of virginity," the blonde girl murmured, glancing down at her bump, carefully hidden beneath the folds of her robe, _I don't regret you, though, little one_.

"Did he use a condom?"

"Yes, yes he did." _and it failed miserably._

"Oh, good," Bra reached out to squeeze her friend's hand, "Kami, if he'd gotten you pregnant during senior year, I don't know what I'd do."

"Obviously, kick his ass," Pan retorted, "because if, hypothetically, he did knock Maz-chan up, he just broke up with her, meaning that he's a coward and a douche bag who doesn't own up to his mistakes."

"Yes, we'd have to kick his ass... hell, we still have to kick his ass for loving you and leaving you like this," the saiyan royal leaned down to kiss Marron's forehead affectionately, "Poor baby. You know what, forget him, I'll be your boyfriend, I'm sure I can do a better job than he did."

"Bra!" Pan snorted with laughter, "it's _girlfriend_ not boyfriend, you idiot. See? This is why she didn't want to tell you, because you're nuts. What about Goten?"

"Goten can _watch_," the bluenette winked saucily, cuddling up to the mortified blonde in the bed, "I'm pretty certain he'd enjoy the show."

"I should've kept my mouth shut," Marron covered her fire-engine red face up, nonetheless giggling hysterically, "oh my Kami, Bra, are you for real?"

"Of course I am," she retorted, "I love you and I want you to be happy, and if that means starting a lesbian relationship with you to make you happy, then I will. Why are you being so resistant? Did Pan ask you out first?"

"And if I did?" Pan bit her lip to keep from dissolving into giggles, "what are you going to do about it?"

"Get my Daddy to kick your ass because Marron is _mine_."

"I'm nobody's property, so calm down," Marron waved her hands to dispel the conversation, "Dende, you two. If I want to start relationship with either of you, I'll let you know. Good Kami, Bra, you're really Bulma's daughter."

"Tried and true." That did it. The three girls dissolved into raucous gales of hysterical laughter, falling over each other as tears of mirth poured down their cheeks. A tiny piece of hope came to life within Marron; somehow she had a good feeling that, if she told her friends her secret, they wouldn't run away from her. She felt like they'd stay by her side and help her through it. The happy thought, a ray of sunshine amid all the negativity she felt, was a relief and only made her laugh more.

**(A/N: Technically, Marron didn't lie in this scene. She just didn't confirm Bra's suspicions.)**

*Monday*

Marron entered her counselor's office bright and early that Monday morning, inwardly cringing at what she'd have to do. Smiling weakly at the woman sitting behind the desk, she took a seat in one of the chairs and sighed, "I need to make a change to my schedule, Ms. Pleasant."

"Hm?" the graying woman questioned, "whatever for?"

"I need to drop my second period dance class because... well, because I'm pregnant." Marron clarified, "and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell any of my teachers about this. I just need to get out of that class."

"Well, I have to tell your teachers in case of any health complications, dear," Ms. Pleasant turned to face her computer, "don't worry, I'll make sure they keep this to themselves. What's your name, dear?"

"Thank you. My name's Marron Chestnut, ma'am."

"Alright, I don't mean to sound cliche, but would you like to switch your dance class for Family and Children's studies?" the counselor questioned with a slight smile, "the class could come in handy for you in the coming months. It'll cover child development, pregnancy progression, the works."

"That sounds extremely helpful, thank you."

"Alright," the woman made a few clicks and grabbed a note to write something down, and then began printing something, "here's a note for the teacher, and your new schedule is printing. Dearie," she reached out to touch Marron's hand, "don't be so hard on yourself. I can see it in your eyes. We're only human, hon, we all make mistakes and fall short at some point. It's a part of life and becoming stronger mentally and emotionally. Hang in there and be careful, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Marron nodded once and took the note and her new schedule gratefully, "thank you so much."

"Anytime you need to talk, my door's open."

*later: Cooking, 4th Period*

"We missed you in Dance Class, Maz," Bra spoke as the three girls congregated at their cooking station, "where were you?" Marron bit her lip somberly, "I got a schedule change. I'm just not feeling Dance, that's all."

"Oh, well... alright, then," Pan glanced at the board, "we're making Cajun Chicken Salad. What class did you switch to?"

"Family and Children Studies," the blonde replied blandly, "where are we going to eat for lunch? I feel like having burgers." _One with green chilies, Dijon mustard, and grilled pineapples... Mmmm... Dammit, I thought it was too early for cravings..._

"The Burger Shack it is, then," the Son raised a brow, "you must _really_ want those burgers, Maz, you're practically salivating."

"I'm a little peckish, yes," the blonde teen looked down, somewhat subconsciously wiping at the corner of her lips with the back of her hand, "I only had a muffin and some coffee for breakfast." Her friends laughed good naturedly at her and began gathering the supplies for the Cajun Chicken Salad.

*After school: Kame House*

The facade Marron had been holding up throughout the school day crumbled to bits as soon as she unlocked the door to her home and let herself in. Her mother, who'd looked up from whatever she was reading in the kitchen, quickly averted her gaze back to the magazine. Her father wasn't there, and neither were Roshi or Oolong for that matter.

The blonde teen entered the kitchen to grab a cold bottle of water and sighed sadly at her mother's back, "I'm still alive and healthy. Just thought you'd like to know, considering the fact that I don't even exist to you right now. I still love you, Mom." She grabbed the bottle of water and retreated to her bedroom to get started on her homework. Her tear ducts were stinging and swollen, probably unable to produce tears. She made a mental note to buy herself some eye drops or artificial tears in the near future.

*downstairs*

Juuhachi watched her daughter's back as she headed up the stairs to her bedroom, not bothering to conceal the aching concern that she felt for her child. Her pride wouldn't allow her to apologize for the dramatic fuss she'd kicked up last Friday, and, quite frankly, she didn't trust herself to say anything to Marron without growing angry with her all over again. How could she be so calm in a situation like this?

She'd listened in on her conversation with Bra and Pan on the past Saturday and overheard her recant of the fateful night she'd spent with Uub that had resulted in this... _mess_. That foolish boy... what was he thinking, giving alcohol to a minor? The anger, shame, and disappointment she felt for Marron had _nothing_ on the amount of borderline _hatred_ she felt for the cowardly reincarnation of Kid Buu.

Juuhachi read between the lines of the falsified tale she'd fed her two friends, and knew instantly what had happened. Marron had gone to Uub and told him about their lovechild, and the spineless wimp took the easy way out and left her to fend for herself. Her heart ached for her precious daughter, but she didn't know how comfort her, especially after her blowup the day prior. So, she remained quiet and stoic, simply disregarding her existence... even if it hurt like hell.

*Elsewhere*

"Uub-kun?" Koulu Majuubi, the mother of Uub, peered into his oddly darkened bedroom with worried hazel eyes, "dear, what's wrong with you?"

For the past five days, her eldest son had been nothing but a shadow of his former, cheerful self. If anything, his subdued mood reminded her of the days when he was younger and fearful of the strength he couldn't control. He'd forcibly kept himself away from the other children for fear of hurting them by playing with them. It had hurt her to her soul to see her precious boy suffer, and she couldn't imagine a possible way to repay Goku for helping him learn to control his strength and giving him a proper, peaceful life.

"I haven't seen Marron around lately," the deep caramel skinned woman hedged, and knew what the root of the issue was when her son, lying on his back ont he bed, gazing blankly at the ceiling, cringed sharply, "did something happen between you two?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Mom," Uub's voice was hoarse from lack of use, "please... don't push me to."

"Kou-chan," Taiyuo Majuubi, Uub's father, appeared behind his wife and placed a guiding hand at the small of her back, "leave him be. It's clear that he needs some time to himself to think about this."

"Alright," Koulu looked torn, "Uub... you know you can tell me anything, darling. I'm always here whenever you need me, okay?"

"I know, Mom."

Koulu sadly left the room at her husband's side, closing the bedroom door behind herself. She looked up at her husband with tear-filled eyes and gave a low whimper, "I haven't seen him like this since he was a little boy," a soft sob escaped her, and Taiyuo took her in his comforting arms and held her against his chest, soothingly smoothing a hand over her soft, cocoa-colored braided hair, "I don't know what to do, or how to help him. What's wrong with him?"

Inside the bedroom, Uub bit his lip to ward off the rumbling waves of guilt that threatened to overcome him at the sound of his mother's soft sobs. He hated to hear her cry, it was something he usually tried to avoid... just like he used to with Marron.

_Marron... You made her cry, too..._

He'd watched miserably from the window of the ice cream parlor as the love of his life sat in the driver's seat of her car and sobbed. It was heart wrenching to watch as her entire body shook and trembled with each sob. He felt as though he'd been privy to watching her heart break. He'd abandoned her in her time of need, and he doubted he'd ever be able to forgive himself.

The former Majin's chocolate gaze dropped to the glossy picture in his hand, slightly crumpled, and felt a wave of amazement flow through him at the sight of the tiny, budding miracle that was currently growing in his Marron's womb. There were no real defining features just yet, but, the more he looked at it, the more of a connection he felt to the mysterious little creature... but with that growing connection came fear.

There was a deep, harrowing fear that reared up every time he thought about the child he'd fathered with Marron. He didn't believe that he had what it took to be a father, much less a father to something that came from his precious Marron. No, no, he was far from being worthy of that honor. He was nothing more than a coward, and he hated himself for it.

*U*U*U*U*

September came to a somewhat somber close, bringing in the cooler weather and pumpkin filled month known as October. As the time passed, Marron's stomach continued to expand, and it was becoming harder and harder to keep it concealed. She was now coming up on her third month of pregnancy, marking the end of her first trimester, and soon, the beginning of her second. She was continuously on the receiving end of curious looks from her peers, seeing that her latest choices of clothing always somewhat swallowed her, and Maori's interest had been piqued, something she couldn't afford. Meanwhile, her friends were still blissfully unaware... well, blissfully unaware in _Bra's_ case. Pan was somewhat suspicious of her, and the blonde teen knew that the time to tell her friends about her condition was fast approaching.

*Pepper Town Clinic*

"Here for your monthly check-up, dear?" Clara questioned pleasantly as Marron entered the clinic, dressed as unsuspiciously as possible. The young mother to-be smiled weakly at the older woman and walked up to the desk, "yes ma'am, I'm here for an ultrasound."

"Alright, just sign your name here, and Christina will be with you in a moment," the elderly woman smiled sweetly, "how've you been feeling? Not too much nausea, I hope."

"A little bit of morning sickness here and there, nothing too-"

At that moment, Dr. Christie walked out of the examination area, once arm wrapped around the shoulders of one Maori Peechum. Marron gave a cough and turned away to look at the opposite wall as the two women approached, talking softly about something.

"Come back by if there's anymore abnormal bleeding, alright?" Dr. Christie finished, "be careful, alright?"

"Yes, Dr. Christie, I'll let you you know... um, thank you." Maori cast an odd look at the young girl facing away from her and mumbled something under her breath before leaving the clinic. Marron heaved a sigh of relief and turned to face the women, who were looking at her knowingly.

"You go to school with her, don't you?" Christina questioned, a wry grin on her face, "she's very insecure about a certain Bra Briefs, Pan Son, and Marron Chestnut somehow figuring out what she's here for."

_And I already know._

"To be fair, she's not the nicest person to us when I see her during school hours," Marron shrugged weakly in response, "so I suppose she should be a little scared of what might happen. I'm not that kind of person, though, but Bra on the other hand... she's at home with the blackmail and dishing dirt and other stuff. I think it's because she's had experience with it, what with her mom running CC."

"Come along then, Marron," Christie waved a hand towards the examination room, "maybe we'll be able to tell whether or not you're having twins this time. Have you had any fluttering sensations yet? Some women can feel fluttering as early as the end of the second month, but it's fairly rare."

"Um, no, just the morning sickness and some cravings every once in a while," the blonde teen fidgeted slightly, "and my bras are getting tighter, and my breasts hurt a little."

"That's normal, that means you'll be able to breastfeed when the time comes," the doctor led the way down the hall, "head into the bathroom and change into one of the gowns, will you? It'll make this a bit easier. If you want, I can do a Doppler sonogram and let you hear the heartbeat. Ah," the young woman slapped herself in the face, "we could've done that last time to see whether or not you were having twins. I'm an idiot, forgive me."

"It's okay, Dr. Christie," Marron said with a small laugh, "I'll go change now."

*in the examination room*

"Okay, let's see what we have here," Christie snapped a pair of latex gloves onto her hands and, after laying a small towel over Marron's lower extremities, grabbed the tube of gel and applied a generous glob of it to the growing mound between the blonde's hips, "I'll do the ultrasound first, and then the Doppler after." At Marron's nod, the Doctor grabbed the transducer and used the rounded end of the tool to smooth the gel over Marron's bump.

"Ah ha," Christina murmured, "well, you're in luck. I only see one baby here, but there's still a chance another one could be hiding behind this one. Once the baby gets bigger and there's less space, you'll know for sure. The Doppler might be able settle this little dispute, but more often than not, the heartbeats tend to match each other, so... we'll never know until later."

"It's so tiny..." Marron whispered, watching the little creature on the screen. Suddenly, one of the tiny arms gave a little twitch, almost like the fetus was waving, and a smile broke out on the young mother to-be's face, "Oh... hello." she reached out and brushed her fingers against the screen, "hi, baby. I can't wait to meet you." It was an odd feeling, but she truly couldn't wait to meet this little mystery person who she loved so much. It would be nice to finally put a face and a name to the tiny benign existence in her womb.

It felt good to have a little bit of happiness in the sea of fear and loneliness she was currently drowning in.

"Aw," Christie cooed, "they waved at you. Are you ready to hear the heartbeat?"

"Mmhm," Marron nodded once, entranced with her little one, "I'm ready." A slight bit of mournfulness welled up in her gut when the picture of the ultrasound screen vanished, and the blonde teen watched, curious as the woman brought a small device with what looked like a small microphone with a flattened bulb on one end attached to the main body.

"This is a Doppler," Dr. Christie told her as she caught her curious stare, "let's see what's actually going on in here." She turned the small device on and placed the flat end of the wand on Marron's gel covered bump, moving it around. There was no sound, and Marron looked at the doctor with a horrified expression on her face.

"Hold on, Marron," the older woman whispered, "shift your weight to your left hip for me." the daughter of Krillin did as she was told and, for a brief moment, there was an odd whooshing noise, and then silence again.

"Shift back a little bit..." Marron shifted her weight back to the right bit by bit, and then paused as the room was suddenly filled with the whooshing noise she'd heard for a moment just seconds earlier, "what's that?"

"That," Dr. Christie said with a smile, "would be your baby's heartbeat."

It hit her like a Kame Hame Ha. The surreal feeling of wonder and joy. Sure, it was one thing to see her baby on the ultrasound screen, but it was another thing entirely to _hear_ actual proof that it was there, that it was real, that it was alive and apart of her, growing within her body. Tears of joy flowed down her cheeks in slow streams as she closed her eyes, memorizing the beautiful sound; the sound of a new life.

"Would you like a recording of the heart beat?"

"But... I only have the 2000 zeni for the co-pay," Marron stuttered, overwhelmed by emotion, "I'd love to, but my funds are running a bit low."

"Oh, don't worry, it's free of charge," Dr. Christie smiled, "would you like to hold the Doppler while I go print out your ultrasound photos and make the recording?"

"Yes," the blonde teen nodded, "yes, please. Thank you."

*at the reception desk*

"Here you are, dear," Clara placed a small white envelope on the counter, along with a generic grey Flash Drive, "the pictures and the heart beat." She smiled at her sweetly, "it's a surreal feeling, isn't it? Knowing that there's a tiny living being growing inside of you? Being able to hear proof of their existence?"

"It is," Marron responded as she pulled her last 2000 zeni out of her wallet, "here you go. I don't think I'll be able to come back for my next checkup. My parents... they aren't talking to me at the moment."

"Oh, no," the elderly woman handed the money back, "then I won't take the last of your money, dearie, you keep that and use it for something you need, alright?"

"But..."

"Don't worry about paying the fee anymore," Clara reached out to cup her cheek in a motherly fashion, "you can come back whenever you want, and don't ever worry about paying. I know how hard being a teen mother can be from first-hand experience and it isn't easy. You keep hanging in there and be strong, dear, don't let your parents get you down. If they can't continue to see you as their daughter because of something as simple as a child, then it's their loss. This baby you're carrying is a gift, not a curse."

"I really needed to hear that, Ms. Clara," the blonde girl whispered, eyes shining with tears, "thank you so much. I'll remember this, I promise."

"You are a gift, both you and this baby," the woman brushed a lock of hair out of Marron's face, "you made a mistake and you're owning up to it. You could've easily gotten an abortion and never told anyone about the child, but you realized that this was something to be cherished, not thrown away. Childbearing is a beautiful, wonderful thing, no matter the circumstances. Now, you go get yourself something to eat and head on home. Be safe on those roads, you hear?"

"Yes ma'am," Marron said with a smile, "I'll see you next month, Ms. Clara."

"Alright then, sweet pea, take care."

*P*P*P*P*

Something was going on with Marron. Pan wasn't blind, she prided herself on being perceptive, it was one of her strong suits. The more she observed her timid little blonde best friend, the more she was certain that there was a secret that the girl was scared to tell. They were her _friends_, they'd grown up together, been in diapers together... the works. There wasn't a thing she could say that would possibly get rid of either her or Bra. Both of them loved her too much.

They didn't call it '_thick and thin_' for nothing, after all...

October was halfway over, Bra was gushing about planning a Halloween party for the ages, and Marron... something wasn't right. Sure, it would be easier to pawn her sudden change off on Uub and her breaking up, but there was something more. She fidgeted when either Bra or Pan hugged her, her clothing was all but swallowing her, and she was extremely subconscious when Bra poked her; something that the saiyan royal did often. None of those things had ever happened before... something else was going on, the blonde just didn't want to tell.

Pan was going to find out what that something was... Marron was worrying her, and she didn't like not being able to help her friends in their time of need. Sometimes, when she watched the blonde when no one else was looking, the smiling, happy face she wore would come off, and there was nothing but fear, hurt, pain, and loneliness in her face. It was saddening and worrisome.

Something had to be done and soon.

*M*M*M*M*

Today marked a month since her parents had last spoken to her, and Marron wondered, dimly, if they'd even notice if she up and disappeared one day. That was what she felt like doing, more and more often. The more time went on, she stopped telling her mother that, yes, she was still alive and healthy. Sometimes she'd catch her father watching her worriedly out of the corner of her eye, but he looked away the moment she glanced in his direction.

In a matter of a month, she'd gone from the perfect daughter to an outcast... to a _ghost_.

It hurt so much, but what hurt even more was that Uub hadn't even bothered to contact her _once_ since she broke the news to him. He didn't bother to ask how she was doing, if she was alright and healthy... if she was _alive_. She understood he was fearful and insecure, but... but, dammit she wished he would just call and ask if she was alright, if only to show that he still cared on some level.

Her body was changing a bit more, and not just in the abdominal area. Yes, her stomach was growing, but so were her breasts and her face had taken on a rounded appearance, almost like she was retaining water in her cheeks. Her breasts were aching almost all the time, but it wasn't a debilitating pain, it was more of the slow, throbbing, annoying kind of pain that niggled at the back of your mind every once in a while. The extra cleavage wasn't welcome, it wasn't even the _cute_ kind. Her areola were bigger and darker and her breasts hung heavily against her upper abdomen when she took her bra off. What was worse was that she still had six more months of breast growth to come.

All in all, she was decidedly miserable and desperately trying to hide it whenever her friends were around. Marron was planning on telling them about the baby soon, but she wondered how long she was going last, drowning in the stress and misery of being alone in this rocky road to motherhood. Sure, there were a few people who offered support and would lend an ear if she wanted to talk, but it wasn't the same. Why did she have to turn to people that she didn't know when there are, were, so many who loved her, cared for her, and actually knew her?

Why was her being pregnant so bad? It could've been a drug addiction, a drinking problem, being suicide-prone, or even a murderer. Why were her parents treating her this way for something as simple as a pregnancy, when there were a whole lot of things she could've done that could've been _much_ worse? She didn't understand their reactions or their logic at all. Sure, she didn't expect them to be over the moon, but icing her out for a month? As a future mother, she could never see herself doing something so cold to her child, should they, hopefully not, end up in a situation like hers.

She just didn't understand how an unborn child could be the cause of such discord and chaos. It didn't make sense, and it was, slowly but surely, beginning to overwhelm her... and one night... she finally snapped.

Krillin and Juuhachi jumped as Marron came down the stairs, face flushed red with her ire, and flung the plate she'd been eating her dinner on to the floor. The china shattered on contact, and she turned her blazing gaze onto them and asked in a low, deadly tone, "What do you want from me?"

"Mar-"

"What the _hell_ do you want from me?" she shrieked, "I'm _pregnant_, the baby's not going anywhere, so you can stop giving me the silent treatment like a bunch of four year olds and get over yourselves! Just because you pretend like I don't even exist doesn't mean that this," she pointed angrily at her distended stomach, "is just going to up and _disappear!_ You can't ignore it and you can't ignore me! I'm your daughter, no matter what you say or do, so stop treating me like a ghost and start acting like actual _parents!_"

"I've already lost Uub," her voice dropped low once more, "I lost him already, and I don't want to lose you, too, but you just... _why? Why _ treat me this way? Do you know how horrible it is to wake up every morning knowing that your parents won't acknowledge you? No? Well I do and it _hurts!_ I thought you loved me, I thought you'd always love me, no matter what, but I guess no one bothered to warn me that your love didn't apply to me if I got myself knocked up, huh? Look at me, I'm the _worst_ person in the fucking world because I got caught up in the heat of the moment and got myself pregnant! I guess it makes sense that my parents _hate_ me for a mistake that I regret..."

Both adults were silent as death, and Marron looked at them in disbelieving rage and hurt. Tears began to flood her flushed, red cheeks and she shook her head slowly, "I can't believe this... all of that and you have _nothing_ to say to me? Well," she trembled as the tears continued to fall, "I might regret getting pregnant now, but I don't regret this baby," she laid a hand on her stomach, "I love them, and we don't need you in our lives if you're going to hold a _mistake_ against me in such a childish way. I don't have to stay here and bear this," her gaze drifted to her mother and she sneered, "now _I'm_ done, Mom. I'm done."

She didn't know where she was going when she started shoving capsules filled with clothes, the photos from both ultrasounds, the last bit of money she had left, her prenatal vitamins, and all her other necessities into her rucksack for school, but she knew... she just had to escape. Tears were clouding her vision as she rifled through her things and put them in capsules, and a heavy weight of disappointment settled on her shoulders as her parents didn't even come up to try and dissuade her from leaving or even apologize. She opened the window, slung the strap of her rucksack over one shoulder, and launched into flight in the dark night, letting her instincts guide her to wherever she may end up.

*meanwhile*

"I..." Juu trailed off, unsure of what to say. Her eyes were glued on the shattered remains of the china plate Marron had thrown to the floor in her ire. Across the table from her Krillin clenched his fists tightly as a wave of guilt washed over him. He'd never known what to say, especially after the night that she'd told them about her pregnancy, and now... he'd never felt so stupid or foolish.

"Where's she going?" the Android questioned as she felt her daughter's ki leaving the island, "I didn't... she can't possibly be serious about leaving..."

"I told you, Juu," the former monk mumbled, "one day she was going to leave... we may as well have pushed her out the door."

"I-I... I never meant... I just," Juuhachi bit her lip, "I didn't know what to say... I blew up at her... I didn't know how to fix it..."

"We're both in the wrong, Juu. We both are."

*elsewhere: About 2 hours later***  
><strong>

Pan frowned as a distressed energy signal dragged her out of her slumber an back into the world of consciousness. She scanned the ki's of her parents down the hall and found them to still be asleep, as were her grandparents across the yard, so what... Marron's ki flared again from the backyard, and the Son's face creased with worry as she read the emotions in her friend's ki. Hurriedly throwing her covers off, the daughter of Gohan shoved her feet into her martial art boots and phased down the stairs and through the kitchen to the back door.

"Marron, what the HFIL are you doing here so late?" Pan hissed as she closed the door behind her, walking across the deck to meet the sobbing blonde haired teenager who was curled into a ball on the wood, rocking from side to side, "it's nearly twelve in the," she paused, noticing her friend's tears, "Maz… what happened?"

"Panny, I just…" Marron whimpered, wiping at the tears running down her face, "I can do it anymore. Uub won't talk to me, won't even see me… my parents act like I don't even exist, they're so ashamed… I should've never told them, you should've seen the way they looked at me," she sobbed, "my own mother told me that she didn't know me anymore."

"Maz," the Son dropped to her knees next to her distraught friend, "what are you talking about? What did you tell your parents and Uub? Sweetie, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's—"

"I'm pregnant, Pan," the blonde girl's voice was emotionless, "I told them I was pregnant and they just," she shook her head as tears began to flow and sobs began to impede on her speech, "I thought they'd always be there for me, no matter what, but I screwed up one good time, and it's like I'm the worst person in the world. I don't know what to do anymore… They turned their backs on me…"

"Shhh," Pan pushed away her shock and hugged the hurt girl tightly, stroking her hair, "I'm not going anywhere, Maz," she kissed the top of her head, "you want to stay here for the night?"

"I can't," Marron whispered, "I don't want to intrude…"

"Please, you're hardly intruding," the Son stood up and helped her friend to her feet, "you need some place to stay where no one will treat you like shit just because you made a mistake, and I can assure you that no one's going to do that here. Come on, I've got more than enough space in my bed for you."

"Thank you, Pan," the blonde girl whispered hoarsely, "you're a ray of sunshine."

* * *

><p><strong>And the pace will slow down somewhat from here on out. Oh my goodness, this chapter was a doozy... I honestly didn't think it would be this long, but I guess it got away from me, lol. Next chapter, I'll start with the following morning and Marron's explanation.<strong>

**I am no good with parental anger. I either take it too far or not far enough and it's frustrating for me. Also, Krillin's characterization has somewhat eluded me. Don't worry, I intend to remedy that in the following chapters. Their not knowing what to say was, in part, me not knowing what to type... yeah. So, I'm gonna post this now, and then take a break and go fool around on Pottermore for a bit.**

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


	7. An Intervention

**The thing about Marron's temper is that it's sometimey. Sometimes it'll be quick to light, like it was at the beginning of the last chapter, and others, like towards the end of the last chapter, it'll simmer for a while and then come to life. She's generally not a standoffish person, she's fairly gentle and likes to keep to herself, but if you push her, she might just surprise you. This is the way I usually write Marron.**

**Now, onto the chapter. Morning after the last chapter ended, the girls wake up and have a talk about the obvious: Marron's parents, the baby, and Uub. From there, we'll bring Bra into the circle of support... probably later, like after breakfast or something, and then we'll see where it goes.**

* * *

><p>Pan groaned as she rolled over in bed, unconsciously throwing an arm over the other person sharing her queen-sized bed with her. The slightly shorter, blonde figure whined softly and rolled over so she was cuddled into Pan's side. The Son got a face full of wavy blonde locks and blinked slowly, picking the stray strands of hair out of her mouth as she came to. The door opened a bit, and Videl peered into her daughter's room curiously.<p>

"When did Marron get here?" she questioned, entering the room, "poor thing, she looks exhausted." The periwinkle-eyed woman walked over to the bed and brushed a few locks out of Marron's face, using her thumb to wipe the tear tracks off of her cheeks, "what happened?"

"I'm actually not a hundred percent because I was half-asleep and it was twelve in the morning," Pan responded mid-yawn, and then gasped as the conversation came back to her in a burst, "she's pregnant."

"I- wait, what?" Videl looked down at her daughter's friend curiously, "well," she mused, "that explains the glow and the rounded face... why is she here, though?"

"Auntie Juu and Uncle Krillin must not have been too happy about it," the daughter of Gohan ran a hand through her rumpled, curly short cut, "she said something about her mother saying that she didn't even know her, and that her parents and Uub turned their backs on her. She can stay here then, can't she, Mama?" she looked at her mother with pleading brown eyes, "I don't mind sharing a room with her, I just want her to be happy."

"I don't see why not," the wife of Gohan bit her lip, "I'll talk it over with your father... and then I'll pretend like I '_conveniently_' forgot you had school today."

"Thanks, Ma- wait," Pan raised a brow, "we had _school?_ What time is it? Oh Kami, Bra's going to kill us for ditching her... serves her right for ditching us last month... she's still going to be pissed, though... I'm hungry," her stomach gave a loud rumble, "I'll go fix breakfast."

"Too bad I already fixed breakfast," Videl rolled her eyes, amused with her child, and then answered her questions, "yes, you did have school, it's currently eleven in the morning, Bra's been waiting for you downstairs for about twenty minutes, yes, she might kill you, and you sound just like your grandfather."

"Hmph," the teen turned her nose up in the air, "I'm going to... _shower_, then."

"You do that," Videl carefully tucked the sheets back around Marron when her daughter got out of the bed, "and don't wake her, she needs her rest. Let her wake up on her own time."

"Okay," Pan scurried over to her bureau to gather up some clothing, "I'll behave, Mama." This she shot sarcastically over her shoulder, causing her mother to roll her eyes in exasperation, "shower, Pan, _now_."

"Yes, ma'am."

*M*M*M*M*

"_She's waking up._"

"_Shut up, Bra, why are you so loud?_"

"_Screw you, Pan._"

"_No thank you, I'll take Trunks, though._"

"_Both of you be quiet,_" Videl hissed, silencing both girls, "_and Panny, you'd better not be messing around with Trunks._"

"_Mama!_"

Bra's snickers completely dragged Marron out of her haze of half-slumber and she blinked tiredly, trying bring the multi-colored blobs before her into focus. She immediately recognized the cheery pale orange walls as those of Pan's bedroom. _How'd I get here?_ Pan and Bra were perched on the bed, staring at her, and her Aunt Videl was standing behind Pan with both of her hands on her shoulders.

"Hi, sweet pea," Bra whispered, "how're you feeling?"

"Uh... fine, I guess," Marron murmured in response, "when did I get here?"

"Last night," Pan responded, furrowing her brow, "don't you remember?"

"It's a little bit hazy," the blonde teen rubbed at her eyes, and then gasped, "did I... did I tell you about the... the baby?" The Son nodded, and Bra looked between the two of them incredulously, "what? What baby?"

"Um," Marron blushed deep red, "well... I'm pregnant, Bra." she clenched her eyes tightly shut as she waited for her friend's reaction. Bra grasped her hand, "sweetie, you should've told us sooner. I'm not mad, Pan's not mad, you didn't have to be afraid."

"I know, I just... I told my parents and Uub first and they just," Marron shook her head, "their reactions were horrible, I didn't want it to happen again so I waited. I was scared."

"Why would we even be mad? It's just a baby for crying out loud," Pan said with an eye roll, "your parents were being dramatic... and don't even get me started on Uub... that cowardly dick, I could just... _ugh!_" The Son clenched her fists tightly, "how could he just leave you like this? It's not like him at all."

"We still owe him an ass-kicking." the blue haired saiyan Princess pointed out, "obviously, we kick his ass. How dare he leave my bestie and my niece alone like this?"

"_Niece?_" Pan scoffed, "B-chan, I think you pronounced _nephew_ wrong."

"You two," Videl rolled her eyes at the two girls, and then smiled at Marron, "you're more than welcome to stay with us as long as you like. I already talked it over with Gohan and he understands."

"Did you give him a purple nurple or did he really say that, Mama?" the daughter of Gohan asked teasingly, and then squealed when her mother grabbed her around the neck and pretended to choke her, "you're lucky we didn't give you up for adoption when you were born. It was a very close debate, you know."

"Ha, Pan, shut up before you get kicked to the curb." Bra flopped over on her side, giggling hysterically. Pan dove on top of the bluenette and began tickling her relentlessly, ignoring her screams of laughter and wails for her to stop. In the meantime, Marron watched her two friends tussle on the bed and laid a hand on her stomach, smiling softly.

_You're going to have a pair of crazy Aunties, little one,_ she thought towards her bump, _they might seem insane, but they'll love you just as much as I do_.

*after breakfast*

The three girls were sitting against the headboard of Pan's bed, watching _Catching Fire_ in companionable silence. Marron was stuck in the middle of her two friends with her head laid on Bra's shoulder and Pan was playing with the fingers on her left hand. The bluenette cleared her throat and squeezed the blonde's hand gently.

"Well," she began, "now that we know about the little bundle of joy... what about school? Are you going to keep hiding it or just let things fall where they will?" Pan glanced over at Marron, "I'd say your best bet is to hide it as long as possible, because the people we go to school with are ridiculously prejudiced about girls going to school pregnant."

"I think you're right, Pan," Marron mumbled, "but I need to go shopping for some maternity pants. My jeans don't fit me anymore, and I can't keep wearing yoga pants and tights all the time. I don't have the money for it, though."

"Don't tell me your parents stopped giving you your allowance?" the daughter of Gohan questioned, "you've got to be kidding me. I mean, I get that they weren't too happy, but that's going too far."

"Don't worry about the money," Bra responded, "I'd be glad to take you shopping for some new clothes and for some things for my _niece_," as she said this, she shot a smug look at Pan, "it'll be no trouble for me, honestly. So, whenever you want to go, let me know. Oh my Kami, let me see!"_  
><em>

"See what?" Marron questioned incredulously, "there's nothing to see just yet."

"You're... _three_ months? There's something there," the bluenette eagerly pulled Marron's robe open and rolled her shirt up, "see! Panny, look how cute her little tummy is! It's so round and adorable," she leaned over and kissed the bump gently, "hi, sweet pea, this is Auntie Bra, or Auntie Blue, and I love you and can't wait to meet you!"

"Move," the brunette girl pushed Bra's head out the way and wiped her kiss off of Marron's skin, replacing it with her own, "hi, honey bun, this is your Auntie Pan, or the _Fun Auntie_, and I love you and I can't wait to meet you _more_ than she can't wait to meet you. Your tummy's cute, by the way," she gently poked the firm little mound with her index finger, "it makes you seem more cuddly."

"What are we going to do today?" the saiyan Princess questioned, "I mean, movies are great and all, but it'll be getting really cool and Autumn like soon and I want to enjoy the Summery weather as much as I can."

"Well, Mommy-to-be, what say you to a walk to the meadow?" Pan questioned, gently pulling Marron's shirt back down, "since she wants to be outside so badly."

"Fine by me." she responded in kind, smiling happily, "it'll be nice to go outside and enjoy the nice weather."

*in the meadow*

Marron was reclining against the trunk of a sakura tree, with a few cushions between her back and the rough bark. Videl wouldn't allow her to go without something to keep her comfortable. The three girls were settled on a picnic blanket, Bra was sprawled out on her back and Pan was lying across her, laughing as the blue haired girl tried to push her off. The blonde teen had a corner of the blanket to herself, and was greatly amused by her friends antics.

"Pan, if you don't get off of me," Bra yowled, "you're heavy!"

"Come on, B-chan," the Son giggled, "I just needed something cozy to lay on, and I'm barely hundred and ten pounds!"

"Then lay on the blanket!"

Two deep, chuckling voices issued from the sky above, and the three teens looked up as Goten and Trunks floated down from the sky to land on the soft grass. Bra used Pan's distraction to push her friend off and jumped up to run to her boyfriend. Pan grasped her ankle before she could get far, and snorted with laughter as Bra staggered and fell to her knees.

"Screw you, Pan," the saiyan royal jerked away from Pan's grip and stomped over to Goten, pouting, "Goten, she's bullying me..."

"I'm just having a little fun," Pan smiled innocently at her Uncle, and then turned her gaze to the lavender haired Prince, "hello, lover. How are you?" Trunks flushed slightly and smirked in response, "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Pissed at Uub," the Son spat, crossing her arms over her chest, "the little cowardly-"

"Pan, please," Marron murmured, touching her friend's arm, "I don't want to talk about Uub anymore today. Let's just forget about him and enjoy the good weather, alright?"

"Hey, Maz," Goten plopped onto the blanket, dragging Bra down with him to sit on his lap, "how've you been?" Marron smiled weakly, "much better now, but it's been a lot worse."

"Really?" Trunks laid down on the grass and placed his head in Pan's lap, "what's been happening?"

"I'm pregnant, guys," she murmured, reaching out to pluck a few blades of grass from the ground, "my parents have been ignoring my existence for the better part of a month and Uub... Uub isn't ready for children, so we're... I don't know what we are, but we're obviously not together anymore."

"_What_?" The saiyan Prince sat up at once, his face filled with incredulity, "you told Uub about the baby and he backed out? What ever happened to '_it takes two_' and everything?"

"You guys are a bit older and more mature in mind than he is," Pan reached to ruffle his hair lovingly, "I'm not saying he's right to push all the responsibility onto Maz, but you have to remember that he's only twenty-three."

"_Twenty-three,_ not _seventeen_," Goten spoke up, "he's acting like a teenager."

"Guys, seriously," Marron placed a soft hand on Goten's arm, "I don't want to talk about Uub anymore. Let's talk about something else."

"You should have a boy, Maz," Goten piped up, "they're more fun, right Trunks?"

"Yeah." the lavender haired saiyan chuckled, "boys rule."

"Um, no, I believe the saying is '_girls rule, boys drool_'." Bra corrected, "she should have a girl. They're more fun to dress and shop for." Pan rolled her eyes, "she should have a boy because girly girls such as yourself are high maintenance and we don't know how much of a chance that, should she have a girl, it'll be a tom boy like her Auntie Pan."

"That's because she's _not_ going to be a tom boy," the bluenette sniffed, "I'm going to teach her the wonderful ways of makeup and dresses and heels." Pan grimaced at the thought of Bra's plan, and Goten and Trunks laughed raucously.

"I don't care what I have, so long as it's healthy, so all your arguments are invalid," Marron said with a small smile, "I'm hoping that, no matter what I have, you guys will still love the baby, no matter how it grows up."

"Of course, Maz-chan," Bra beamed, "I don't mind... but I'm _really_ rooting for a girl."

"We're fine with whatever you have, don't listen to her." Trunks reached out and flicked the edge of his little sister's nose with his figner, "she's only thinking about herself and being selfish... as usual."

"Hush," the bluenette responded, "I was _kidding_. Do you want to go shopping for some new clothes today?"

"Um, I guess we could," the blonde girl fingered a loose lock of her hair thoughtfully, "soon enough, I won't be able to fit into anything except for my tights, sweats, yoga pants and tunics. Might as well quit pretending that I'm going to stay tiny forever," she bit the inside of her cheek and looked at Trunks, "how's Uub been doing lately?" Sure, it still hurt to think about him and what he'd done to her, but she had to know if he was alright.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since the two of you called it quits," Trunks shrugged, "the last time we saw him, he looked like he had a lot on his mind and it was overwhelming him. He left early and he's been sticking to his parent's home for the time being, at least what I've sensed of him."

"He's called in from work, too," Goten added, obviously talking about their dojo, "I'm getting drowned in classes. Gohan comes in when he can to help me out, but classes at Uni are in full swing so he can't be there all the time."

"What about Grampa?" Pan queried, "he can help, can't he?"

"Pan, it's _Dad_," the youngest Son brother retorted, rolling his eyes, "if I don't watch him carefully, he'll do something crazy, like show the students a Kame Hame Ha or how to fly... general stuff that he doesn't understand why it needs to be kept a secret."

"Ah... touche." His niece nodded, "obviously, Vegeta isn't an option."

"Kami no," Trunks shuddered, "Dad has no patience whatsoever."

"He has patience with _me_," Bra piped up, "you guys just suck, that's all that is."

The four friends broke into raucous gales of laughter, and Marron sighed as she watched Pan and Bra interact with their boyfriends. It was hard for her to admit, but she was insanely jealous in that moment. She knew it wasn't fair to feel that way, but, at the same time, she couldn't help how much seeing them together made her miss Uub. Instead of bringing a damper on their antics, Marron forced a smile and joined in, even though a part of her was seething with jealousy and yearning for a man that she'd probably never have again.

*The next day*

Something was definitely different about the Golden Trio today. Maori was sure of it. Her sharp eyes followed the three girls as they walked down the hall together, conversing in whispers. If she didn't know any better, it seemed as if the Briefs girl and the Son girl were guarding the little blonde one who's name she could barely remember. Speaking of whom, the blonde, for some odd reason, was vaguely familiar. She'd seen her somewhere outside of school... but _where_?_  
><em>

"So," the head cheerleader popped up behind the three girls, "sharing secrets, are we? Little crushes and whatnot?"

"_Crushes_?" Pan repeated in an incredulous tone, "what are we, _six_? I don't know if I rub it in your face enough, but I'm dating _Trunks Briefs_, I don't have room for petty '_crushes_' like you do. What the hell do you want, Maori?"

"Oh please, we all know your grandfather is paying him off," the brown haired girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and eyed Marron, "so... any reason why these two are playing body guard for you?"

Marron stared at her blankly, thinking about the abortion that the girl had just last month. It was hard to connect this rude, snotty bitch with that nervous, frighten girl that she'd seen in that doctor's office. It was only out of respect for her privacy that she hadn't shared that piece of information with either of her friends, knowing full well that they'd be all too eager to use it against her if she provoked them enough.

"Well, now that you've successfully wasted our time," Bra snipped, gesturing to the clock on the wall, "we're going to head to Honors Trig, now. You know," she smirked mercilessly at Maori, "the class for girls who actually have _substance_."

"Hmph," the cheerleader snorted, "more like the girls who don't get laid," and made to walk away.

"I didn't know that _not_ being a whore was a crime," Pan drawled, "gosh, I'm so insulted by the fact that _every_ guy doesn't know what I look like naked. Get some new insults, Peechum, you just complimented us for crap's sake."

Maori made an ugly hand gesture and stormed off, leaving Bra in stitches, "we're not bi-curious, thank you," she snorted, "and even if I was, I would _not_ experiment on it with _her_. How are you feeling?" This question was directed at Marron, who blinked and came out of her reverie.

"I'm fine," the blonde girl mumbled, glancing down at the loose, quarter-sleeved '_Son_' t-shirt that Pan had stolen from Goten for her to wear, "the worst of the morning sickness has passed, I think." She'd spent the better part of the morning in front of Pan's toilet, throwing up what little food she had in her stomach, but now she was feeling better, just a bit on the lightheaded side from the fading nausea.

"Good," Pan linked arms with her, "now, no throwing up in Trig, missy."

"Yes, ma'am." Marron giggled as Bra took her other arm and, together, the three girls spirited away to their first class, laughing together.

*Third Period: Free Draw*

Marron was seated at her desk in the back corner of the classroom, right foot tucked under her left thigh, completely absorbed in the slowing filling sheet of her scrapbook. She grabbed her smaller smudging tool and began using it on a part of the drawing. It appeared to be a small, square room with a large bay window on one wall, decked out with thin, see-through curtains and, underneath it, was the beginnings of a crib. The blonde finished smudging the shadow of a rocking chair in the corner and, grasping her drawing pencil, returned to drawing the crib.

"That's lovely, Marron," Miss McClure spoke up from behind her, having stopped to peer over her shoulder, "I trust things are going well, then." Smiling shyly, Marron nodded in the positive, "yes, ma'am, things are looking up." Her teacher moved to look at one of the other students' desks, leaving her to continue her doodling. Today's prompt for the drawing was '_Dream_' and, in a sense, the little nursery she'd chosen to draw was her dream, it was what she wanted, all in one picture.

The daughter of Krillin finished the crib and was now reworking the rocking chair to draw a nondescript woman and man, the latter of which was sitting in the chair, cradling a bundle in her arms. The man was kneeling next to the chair, one arm wrapped around the woman's back, the other just beneath his wife's arms with a thumb brushing against the face of the baby in the blanket.

Warmth bit at the backs of Marron's eyes as she unconsciously added a mohawk to the happy new father in her drawing and, hastily, she erased it. However, she put too much force behind it and tore the portion of the paper on which the happy, new little family had been drawn on. Even worse, the tear almost completely removed the man from the picture, leaving the mother and child on their own.

_Damn it_, Marron forced back her tears, _why the hell can't I just forget about him and focus on the baby? Oh, that's right_, she recalled cynically, _he's a part of this baby_.

At some times, when she really allowed herself to think about it, Marron wanted to hate Uub for leaving her, but she couldn't bring herself to. A part of her desperately wanted to know how he could possibly think that _he_ had it bad when _she_ was the one who had to carry the physical, tangible proof of their indiscretion for all to see. He was a coward, plain and simple. At least she had the courage to face this head-on and deal with the consequences, while he had run home with his tail tucked between his legs and hid from it, as if that would make it go away. No, she didn't hate Uub, but she was definitely angry, hurt, and disappointed.

The bell rang, and the young Chestnut hastily closed her sketchbook, put it back in her rucksack, and began tucking her drawing tools back into her supply box. Her fingers shook with the roiling emotion flowing through her, and she uttered a low curse as the box fell out of her hands and sent her pencils, smudging tools, erasers, and drawing pens scattering all over the floor. The young mother to-be got down on her hands and knees to gather her things, completely unaware that she was being helped.

"Here you go," a pair of masculine hands popped into her vision, holding out a few of her colored drawing pens and several erasers, "I picked these up for you, you seemed like you were in a bit of a trance."

Marron took the pens and other items slowly, looking up into a pair of deep, forest green eyes, "Um... thank you," she managed a very small, weak smile, "I was just a little frustrated is all. Uh... I'm Marron. Marron Chestnut."

"Kai," the black haired boy responded, "Kai's short for Kaiden... Kaiden Davies."

"Nice to meet you, Kai, and thank you for helping me," the blonde teen took her time putting her things back in the box, "so... I've got to head on to my next class. I guess I'll see you... tomorrow?"

"Yeah, uh..." Kaiden bit his lip, "is everything alright? You seemed a little upset today."

"Issues at home, that's all," Marron put her box in her bag, "so... see you tomorrow?"

"Yep, definitely," he nodded frenetically, "hope things get better for you at home, then." With that, he shouldered his backpack and left the room, leaving Marron confused by his approach. Shaking her head to clear it, she grabbed her rucksack and left the room, headed for her cooking class in a haze of thought.

*4th Period: Cooking*

"So he just stopped and helped you pick everything up?" Bra asked, "and you've dropped stuff before and he's never bothered to help you before now? Seems a little fishy."

"Bra, maybe he was being nice, why does everything have to have an ulterior motive with you?" Pan asked, exasperated, "you're just like your Dad." At this, Marron laughed and continued working the dough with her hands, "she's right, Bra, you are."

"Well, excuse me if this seems weird," the bluenette snipped in response, "maybe he's got a crush on you or something. It's all hallmark behavior for a boy who likes something he sees."

"That's the last thing on my mind right now," the daughter of Krillin looked down pointedly at her bump, "_boys_. They got me into the situation that I'm in right now, and besides," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "_what boy wants to be romantically involved with a girl who's pregnant with another man's baby?_"

"You never know," Bra responded, "there are plenty of honorable men out there who would be happy to be the father of a child that isn't theirs."

"Only thing wrong with your logic is that Maz isn't looking for someone to fill that role at the moment," Pan shot back, "and I don't think she has time to think about a romantic relationship with a baby to prepare for."

"I really don't," Marron grabbed the pie tin and began mashing the dough into it, "so he can like me all he wants. I'm not interested."

Sensing her desire to switch subjects, the other two girls returned to preparing the pie filling, a mixture of strawberries, blackberries, cherries, raspberries, and blueberries, all pitted and poured into a mixture of hot water, corn starch, and sugar. The subject wasn't broached again.

*12:50*

The three friends met up in the main hall after their fifth periods ended, planning on heading to a nearby pizzeria to sate Marron's craving for a pizza with mushrooms, chicken, bacon, sausage, spinach, tomatoes, banana peppers, four different cheeses, and a crust stuffed with bacon and, of course, more cheese.

"Come on, Momma Bear," Pan teased, looping an arm through Marron's, "I'm treating. I want some pizza too."

"XXL Meat-lovers with five cheeses, Pan-chan?" Bra questioned, coming up on Marron's other side, "that's your MO. Come on, you guys, let's just... what the hell? What's _he_ doing here?" the bluenette sneered, a coldness flowing into her voice.

Furrowing her brow, Pan followed her friend's gaze, and Marron jerked as her ki spiked markedly and, before either Bra or she could grab her, she was storming across the hall and out of the front doors of the school. The blonde teen, upon following her to the door, realized the source of her anger and felt her own mood start to spiral downwards as her anger flared.

Innocently standing next to his air car, hands shoved in his pockets as though the last month or so hadn't happened, was one Uub Majuubi. The desire to be able to hate him burned hotly in the young mother to-be's chest as she took him in and, oddly enough, so did the gentle waves of pity. His eyes were bloodshot and the darkened bags under his eyes showed that he hadn't slept well for quite a long period of time. His clothing was rumpled and his mohawk unkempt. He looked awful.

"Pan?" Bra hurried out of the school, seeing that Pan wasn't stopping, "_Pan, stop!_" The Son stopped right in front of Uub and dashed him across the jaw with her right fist, seething with anger, "you miserable prick, what the hell are you doing here?"

Uub's face whipped to the side violently and Marron, coming back to herself, hurried out of the school and down the steps, "_Pan_," she grasped her friend's arm, "just stop, please... let him go," her gaze shifted to Uub, "why are you here?"_  
><em>

"I think that's a good question," Bra came up next to Marron and touched Pan's back, "leave him alone and come on. They _need_ to _talk_." At her pointed words, the Son girl stopped trying to burn a hole through the former Majin and, after spitting at him, followed the Briefs girl to the student parking lot, leaving Marron and Uub alone.

"Marron, I..." Uub bit his lip, "I don't know why I'm here."

"It's been a month," she whispered, "a little more than a month, actually, and you're just _now_ trying to contact me? And you don't even know why you came? I'm sorry, excuse me for not being pleased that you even bothered to show up."

"Marron, I'm so-"

"_Sorry_?" the blonde girl asked sharply, finishing his sentence for him, and then stammered, "Uub, you have no idea how much I wish I could hate you," she hissed venomously, "Bra and Pan don't care, Trunks and Goten don't care, Videl, Gohan, Goku, and Chichi don't mind and they're willing to support me but it's not the same... I feel like I'm being so selfish, but they love me and they care about me, but I still feel like I'm alone in this because the person who's supposed to be in this situation with me has taken the coward's way out and left me to deal with this on my own."

"Marron, you know-"

"What? That you're _scared_?" Marron spat venomously, "do you know how weak of an excuse that is? I'm scared, too, but you don't see me running for the hills like you did! Of course, how the hell am I supposed to run from it when the proof of it is under my shirt? You're a coward, Uub. I'm owning up to this life we created, and it would be nice if you could do the same!"

"I'm _trying_!" Uub's suddenly loud, roaring voice had her cowering back from him, but he continued, "I've been trying my best to get over this, but it's hard. I've suddenly found out that I'm going to be a Dad, at least you had some warning-"

"_Warning?_" she spat, "so, you think it's not as surprising to me because I had some symptoms pointing in that direction? I'm a _seventeen year-old girl_, Uub, if you think that finding out that I'm pregnant isn't surprising to me, then you're an insensitive idiot."

"_Kami_, this is coming out all _wrong_!" the former Majin gripped the sides of his head, "look, Maz, I'm trying to get over this, but it's hard. I'm getting there, you just have to be patient."

"I'm not staying with my parents anymore," she murmured, looking at him with tear filled, baleful blue eyes, "I told them about the baby and they completely forgot I existed, and my mother told me that she didn't know me anymore. I'm staying with Pan now."

Uub's eyes were wide with shock, "Maz, I-"

"I don't want or need your apologies, Uub," Marron mumbled quietly, "and I certainly don't need your pity. You obviously still have some thinking to do... you know where to find me when you're ready to really talk about this," she caressed her belly lovingly, "but, as of right now, neither of us are ready for that conversation."

"I... you're right," the Majin nodded once, "Kami, I just... this is all my _fault_," his voice cracked threatening, "I should've never brought the stupid champagne along, we should've stayed with the others, and I should've checked the condom before we... it should've never happened, at least not the way it did."

"Uub..." the blonde teen didn't know what to say, other than, "I should go... the girls are waiting for me and... I should go. Bye, Uub." Before he could respond, she turned tail and hurried in the direction of the student parking lot. Only then, with her back towards him, did she allow the tears that had been biting at the back of her eyes to surface.

The moment she reached the car, Bra clambered out and hurried over to her, wrapping her up in a warm hug. Marron greedily absorbed the comfort and laid her head in the crook of her blue haired friend's neck.

"Maz, what did he say?"

"N-nothing," she stuttered, "I don't w-want to t-talk about it. Can we go get pizza now?"

Even though her hunger had vanished the moment she saw her child's father, Marron was in desperate need of something to distract herself from the anguished, guilty look she'd seen in his brown eyes. It was filling her mind and hurting her to her heart; she hated to see Uub in such pain and turmoil.

"Alright," Pan looked skeptical, but knew better than to comment on it any further, "Di Journeau's, here we come." The pregnant girl settled herself in the backseat and pulled her seat belt on, glancing towards the car port furtively. There was no dark green air car. Uub was already gone.

Seeing the Majin's pain and regret for placing her in this position had slightly thrown her for a loop. It was fairly clear that neither of them were ready to sit down and discuss the baby, and that he wasn't ready to step up to the plate and support her. There was fear in his eyes still, and she longed to be able to soothe it away. Her anger towards him had abated and fallen to the wayside, but she was still wary.

After facing the harsh rejection from him and her parents, Marron knew better than to jump into things just because the coast seemed clear. If she got reattached to Uub and he left her again... she didn't think she'd be able to cope with it a second time.

*V*V*V*V*

Juuhachi glanced up from the fashion magazine as the swift rap of someone knocking on the door piqued her ears. Seeing that Krillin was out, and the lechers were all but absorbed in their afternoon pilates video montage, the android stood from the kitchen table and traipsed over to the door to answer it. The people on the other side were none other than Videl and Bulma. Both women smiled in greeting, but it didn't quite reach their eyes. At that moment, she knew _exactly_ why they were here.

"I'm guessing you know why we're here, Juu?" Videl asked unnecessarily and, at the blonde woman's nod, continued, "we just want to talk, that's all." Wordlessly, the blonde woman moved past them and stepped out onto the sand, "we'll talk out here, then."

Bulma and Videl shared a furtive glance and followed the android over to the surf. Juu paused before she reached the point where the water was lapping at the sand when the tide rolled in and turned to address her guests, "so... have you come to tell me how to raise my daughter or not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Annnd... scene! I think we'll save that little can of worms for the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, I've been doing some heavy reading and recently started writing a few things for the Harry Potter fandom that I am now proudly apart of. Hope you enjoyed the read!<strong>

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


	8. A Mother's Love

**I've been running this over and over through my head, trying to figure out the best way to go about this obviously important scene, and this is what I came up with... Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"No, we didn't come to tell you how to raise Marron," Videl's voice was cool, "even though you're doing one bang-up job of it, seeing as<em>your<em> child is living in _my _house now."

"Videl," Bulma touched the younger woman on her arm, "calm down, we only came to ask questions." Her cerulean gaze flicked back to Juuhachi and she spoke firmly, "we just wanted to know why you felt the need to make Marron feel unwelcome in her own home."

"She should've kept her legs closed," the android snapped, "maybe then Krillin and I wouldn't have a reason to be angry-"

"_She_ is a _teenager_, Juu," the wife of Gohan cut in, "the teenage years are when their hormones and sexual drives start to kick in. I'm not condoning the fact that she got pregnant, but you should give her the benefit of the doubt. Teenagers aren't known for making the most wise of decisions in difficult situations-"

"_Don't_ tell me how to raise _my daughter_, Videl," Juu sneered back, "I'll discipline her as I see fit-"

"She's _pregnant_, no amount of '_discipline_' is going to change that. It's impossible to ignore something out of existence, and you and Krillin are absolutely foolish for even trying that. I know exactly how she's going to feel when it comes time for her to have that baby and you're not at her side, coaching her through," Videl's periwinkle eyes glimmered with slightly welling tears, "my mother _died_ before she got the chance to share that experience with me, and I'll be _damned_ if I let you put that poor girl through something that painful. Chichi was an amazing stand-in, but there is _nothing_ like having your mother be there for you. Marron made a mistake, but she doesn't deserve that pain. My mother, at least, was _dead_, how do you think it'll make her feel when her mother, who is alive and well, couldn't find the time to help her in her time of need?"

The android's icy blue gaze became, if possible, even icier and distant. Her voice, though quiet, was sharper than any blade, "she put you up to this, didn't she?"

"No, she actually begged us not to bother, but neither us was about to sit by while you made the biggest mistake of your life," Bulma spoke in a serene tone, "the fact that you think she put us up to this is insulting. Do you really think we'd be as heartless as you're being right now? I remember the look of utter love and joy that you had on your face when you gave birth to her, Juu, is a pregnancy really worth losing your daughter for, possibly, the rest of your life?"

"Oh please," Juuhachi snorted derisively, "Marron's too soft and needy to cut off contact with Krillin and I, you know that."

"You really have no idea how much your reaction affected her, do you? Or that the more you keep this up, the larger the chasm between the two of you will grow... You've hurt her _deeply_, Juu, very deeply. Something like that can have quite the effect on her, and she might not be the '_soft_', '_needy_' Marron you think you know anymore because of it. Think about _that_." Videl turned on her heel and began her trek across the sand to the air car she and Bulma had arrived in.

"This is really neither of your business, so I don't what you think you're doing, trying to manipulate me into feeling sorry for my easy_whore_ of a daughter," Juu spoke in a cruel tone, and Bulma stared at her stonily, "you don't mean that at all. I can see it in your eyes, you're worried and afraid that you've ruined things between you and Marron for good, aren't you? You don't have to answer that, I already know what the answer is, your defensiveness is a dead giveaway."

"If you know _so_ much, then why did you bother coming down here?" the blonde woman spat as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, uncomfortable under the older woman's knowing gaze, "you don't know anything-"

"I know that, if I were in your shoes, I'd feel the same way, but the difference between you and I," the Briefs woman turned on her heel, "is that I'd be fighting tooth and nail to _fix_ it. I remember when you were having complications with your pregnancy due to you being a cyborg, and how worried you were that Marron wouldn't survive the pregnancy. You can keep telling me that you don't care all you want, but I've seen you at your worst when it comes to Marron, and I know that you're only lying to yourself. Have a nice day, Juuhachigo." With that, Bulma walked calmly across the sand to the air car, leaving a confused, agitated, and unnerved android in her wake.

*Elsewhere*

"Is she even _chewing_?"

"I dunno... Kami, Pan, she's eating faster than _you_."

"I _know_... _Hey!_"

"It's the truth," Bra shrugged helplessly, "so stop acting so offended."

Marron, who was furiously tucking away the XL customized pizza on the table in front of her, looked up at her two best friends with an annoyed expression on her face, a long string of melted cheese hanging from the left corner of her lips, and her cheeks bouncing animatedly as she chewed. Pan raised her hands in surrender and Bra pretended to be completely absorbed in the empty pan that had held her small, personal pizza. The blonde expectant mother returned to her feast, and the two demi-saiyan girls resumed their staring.

"Kami," Marron coughed as a small piece of banana pepper lodged in her windpipe and took a swig of her drink, "you... you two, I can't eat with you two muttering about the way I eat over there. You sound like a damn peanut gallery."

"Well _I'm_ sorry," Pan pressed a hand to her chest, mock-offended, "but honestly, we can't help but watch. It's like a car accident about to happen. You wanna look away, but it's so _hard_..." Next to her, Bra nodded vigorously in agreement, and Marron rolled her eyes skywards._  
><em>

"Why don't you two head over to the soda machine and get some refills," she gestured to their empty glasses with a greasy hand, "I just swigged the last of my lemonade, and I've got three more slices to go."

"Fine, fine, meanie," the Son turned her snub nose up in the air, "ruin our fun, why don't you?"

"_Fun_?" The blonde girl remarked, "staring at me while I'm eating is _fun_ to you?"

"We're _weird_, so sue us," Pan gathered hers and Marron's glasses and slid out of the booth, "come on, Bluey, lets go. The soda machine awaits." Bra slid out behind her, and the two of them sashayed over to the machine, laughing together. Marron cast a mutinous glance down at her hidden bump, and then eyed the last three slices of pizza on the pan wearily, "eating for two is going to screw up my post-pregnancy figure, little one, all you crave is junk food."

Marron sighed and laid both of her hands on her rounded belly. Her hunger was sated, at least for now, so she could relax for a bit. The blonde relaxed in her seat and let her eyes flutter closed for a few seconds.

Unbeknowst to her, a certain cheerleader had been seated at the booth behind her and had heard her little one-sided conversation with her child.

"Oh, this is rich," Maori muttered, peeking carefully over the top of the booth to see who it was, "the little shy blonde one is knocked up. Just wait until everyone at school hears about this..." She smiled wickedly and pulled out her phone, preparing to send out a mass text message with the glowing news. As her fingers began to tap out the message, they wavered, and she felt an odd emotion burbling up in her chest._  
><em>

_If it hadn't been for the abortion, I'd be in her shoes_, Maori realized, _and I'd be the one everyone laughed at and talked about... do I really want to do this?_ _No! No, I'm not getting fucking soft just because she wasn't smart enough to get rid of the proof that she's not as angelic as she seems. She shouldn't have made friends with those two spoilt brats, then she wouldn't be in the line of fire._

The odd emotion lingered in her chest as she finished typing out the message and, with a flourish, sent the contents to the phones of nearly every single student in OSH's graduating class.

'_Get this; Pan Son and Bra Briefs' third wheel is fucking preggo! Heard her talking to the bastard child at Di Journeau's! Her senior year is totally fucked! XD.'_

"Ready to go?" Pan appeared at the table, holding a to-go container and three to-go cups, "we get a free refill, too, even though we already... yeah." The Son shrugged and handed the container to Marron, "here you go."

"Thanks, Pan," Marron took the container from her friend and began placing the last three slices of her pizza into it at once,"so... are we going to go to the maternity store or head back to Mount Paozu?"

"It's whatever you want, Maz," Bra filled her to-go cup with her fresh refill of cherry soda, "you've had a kind of rough day, are you sure you don't want to go back to Pan's and rest for a bit?"

"I'm not letting Uub keep me down," the blonde teen carefully closed her container, "so I'm pregnant, so he's an idiot... doesn't mean I have to let him and his issues... or the baby," she smiled tenderly, "get in the way of my life. Things are gonna change as the pregnancy goes on, but it doesn't mean I have to stop living, right?"

"Right," Bra pumped a fist in the air, "cheers for keeping positive."

"Oh, joy," Pan's face crumpled, "that means we're going shopping, doesn't it?"

"I would say you didn't have to go, but you drove us here, so..."

"You have your air car, moocher, so I really _don't_ have to stick around," the brunette raked a hand through her short locks, "I promised Trunks I'd swing by the office to see him on his lunch break, and that's in an hour, so you guys are going to have to do the shopping without me regardless."_  
><em>

"We'll spam your phone with pictures so you'll feel included." Bra giggled.

Pan plastered the most convincing smile she could muster, "no, it's fine. Trunks and I will be busy talking as it it. Don't worry about including me. Besides," she scowled, "you know I hate shopping, so quit the act."

"_Talking_, Pan?" Marron drawled, "are you serious?"

"Oh, don't give me that, missy," the Son poked her friend in the belly gently, "no offense, but you've taught us a little lesson on abstinence with our little nephew here."

"None taken," the blonde girl waved a hand dismissively, "being pregnant at this point in life isn't exactly ideal. I'd suggest against any activities that involve a lack of clothing, Pan-chan."

"You know," Bra snickered evilly, "like _sparring_." Pan went amusingly pale and her friends began laughing raucously at her expense.

"Very funny... evil whores..."

*elsewhere*

"Long time no see, stranger," Goten drawled as Uub entered the dojo, and then did a comical double take when he saw the small, fist-shaped bruise on the left side of his jaw, "holy... let me guess... Pan?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Pan's the only person I know with a fist that size who can actually bruise you... unless you went to go see Marron's parents," the Son eyed his friend furtively, "I'm guessing you heard about what went down between Marron and her folks, huh?"

"She's staying with Pan because of her parents, yeah," the Majuubi's eyes dropped to the floor, "I heard. She told me herself when I stopped at the school to see her. Pan was ready to just about kill me."

"The girls are extremely close-knit, Uub, they grew up together from diaper-hood," Goten chided, "you hurt one of them, you can be damn sure that the other two will be out for your blood. Man," the older man bit his lip, "I really have to know. Are you at least going to own up to what you did and go talk to her parents?"

"How do I know you're not going to let this trickle down the grapevine to the girls, Goten?" the former Majin responded, "you're not the best secret keeper, you know." The serious look etched to the Son's handsome features didn't waver.

"I know how to keep the right secrets, Uub," Goten spoke firmly, "I might come off as some loose-lipped, oblivious moron, but I'm actually much more intelligent than I seem. Gohan's my older brother, after all, and he practically raised me. Why does it seem so impossible that he might have rubbed off on me at least a little?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine," the youngest Son brother shrugged, "I act oblivious for a reason. Are you going to talk to her folks, though? It's only fair, seeing as, if it hadn't been for you, their family would still be... you know, a _family_. I'm not saying that Marron isn't at fault, too, but she's done her part on that front, and they didn't take it well at _all_."

"I... I will, I just..." Uub raked a hand through his mohawk, "this is... none of this was ever supposed to happen, Goten. I didn't expect to become a father at 23, and it's freaking me out. I want to be there for her, I want to hold her hand and help her through this, but it's so hard to wrap my mind around it all."

"Let me guess," the Son's gaze narrowed, "you need more time to think it through? Uub, that excuse isn't going to keep saving you. She's three months along as it is, what are you going to do, keep '_thinking_ _it_ _through_' until she has the baby?"

"I don't see how this is any of your business-"

"Marron's basically family, Uub, our dads are closer than brothers," Goten's retort was sharp and cold, "so you can see how it could concern me when I find out that she's pregnant and the father of her child has gone MIA on her."

The Majuubi reeled back at this firm, protective side of his friend that he's only been privy to seeing in the heat of battle, or an intense spar. His deep brown eyes were ablaze with anger, and his lips, which were usually positioned in a lazy grin, were set in a grim line. The thick black lines of his brows cast a slight shadow over his eyes and upper cheekbones, giving him an aura of wariness.

"You're lucky I didn't give you a second bruise to match the one that Pan's already given you," the Son spoke slowly, as if he were trying to calm himself down, "I was really considering it when I sensed you outside, but I decided to hold off and see what you had to say, and you know what? You've only shown me that you're as much of a coward as I thought you were when Marron told us what you did-"

"What _I _did?" In a flash, Uub's temper was lit like an oil slick, "what about _her_? She had a hunch that she was pregnant for almost a _month_ before she went and got it confirmed at the doctor's! Did she tell you that, Goten? Or how about that, during that time, she assured me that there was _no_ _chance_ that she could possibly be pregnant, and yet here we are, she's pregnant, and I'm the bad guy. Marron's not as innocent as you think, Goten, maybe you should get the whole story before you go picking sides."

"Neither of us has any clue what her mind was like at that time, but I'm guessing that any teenage girl who found out that she could possibly be pregnant would be too scared to tell anyone about the possibility," Goten replied coolly, "and you should at least try to see things from her perspective before you try to hold it against her. At least she's facing her pregnancy head on, whereas you've been hiding out at your parents' home like a scared little_boy_."_  
><em>

"So because Marron isn't scared, I don't have a right to be? Is that it?" Uub spat, "I may love Marron, but we definitely don't work and function the same way. Am I supposed to apologize for trying to come to grips with this... this pregnancy, despite the fact that it completely fucking_blindsided_ me?"

"No matter how scared you are, it's still your child that she's carrying and she's still the love of your life," the Son spoke in a resigned voice, "and I know you can't turn your back on either of them. That's how she felt, though, when she first got Pan's house that night. Pan told me that she said you and her parents had betrayed her and turned your backs on her. I'm not trying to guilt trip you, Uub, I just want you to have an idea of what you'll be dealing with when you get your head on straight."

"I spoke to her today, you know," the Majuubi's gaze and voice were distant, "she was beautiful... glowing, even... but she was so angry, I didn't know what to do or what to say. Everything I wanted to say just came out completely and utterly wrong. I sounded like a fucking douche."

"I've got faith in you, but this is something only you can get yourself through," Goten shrugged helplessly, "you're a better man than this, Uub, I know it, you know it, and Marron definitely knows it. You'll figure yourself out."

"I think I'm going to head home, Goten," Uub mumbled, "I... I'll see you..."

"Yeah," the Son waved a hand as his friend left the dojo, "and maybe you should actually call in sick next time you go AWOL..."

*Trunks' office*

"You hit him? Right there in the parking lot?" Trunks whistled, "damn..."

Pan, who was draped haphazardly over the futon in Trunks' office, shrugged and laid her hands on her stomach, one on top of the other, "he's been such a dick lately, so you can't say that he didn't have it coming."

"Touche," the CC President mumbled through a mouthful of hoagie, "He went to the dojo afterwards and I'm guessing that he and Goten had it out, because their energies were spiking quite a bit earlier."

"Hopefully my Uncle talked some sense into him," the Son murmured, "he can be serious and straightforward when he wants to be."

"Yeah, I've seen that side of 'Ten before," Trunks flinched, "when we started dating, actually. Where are your sidekicks?"

"Bra and Marron went shopping for maternity clothes," the Son responded, "and, since shopping is _not_ my forte, I came straight here to look in your face."

"Aw, I'm touched," the saiyan royal grinned, and then frowned, "if they'd done something other than shopping, would you have come to see me?"

"Uh... no comment."

*meanwhile*

"Here," Bra tossed an armful of maternity blouses over the top of Marron's changing stall, "try these on. I found them out on the floor and thought they would suit you. Hurry up and let me see."

"Bra, that's the fifth load of crap you've thrown at me," Marron whined, "we're here for _pants_, not shirts. That won't be until a little bit later. I'm fine with the seven pairs of pants that we got, and I'm getting tired. Can we go back to Pan's, now?"

"Alright, fine, but at least pick a few of those tops," the bluenette pleaded, "_please_? For me?"

"Ugh... _fine_."

"_Thank you!_"

"The things I do for that girl," Marron muttered, sifting through the moderately sized pile of maternity blouses the bluenette had presented her with, "some of these are kind of cute..." She settled on a magenta three quarter sleeved empire waist top with a black ribbon tied in a bow around the waist-line and a modest v-neckline with some ruffles along the hemming of the neckline, a long sleeved white top with black horizontal stripes for when it got colder, and a long-sleeved pale pink empire waist top with ruching at the waist-line and a scoop neckline. The sleeves of the pink blouse were looser at the forearms and wrists, kind of like angel sleeves.

As for the pants, Marron had settled on four pairs of preggo jeans in varying washes, light, medium, dark, and khaki. She also procured two pairs of lounge pants in heather gray and ash gray, and the last pair of pants were a pair of slacks in case of a formal outing. Once they'd figured out her size, Bra had left her to pick out pants and went to get tops, sweaters, and jackets. The blonde teen didn't want to think about what else the bluenette might have bought while she was in the changing stall and, knowing Bra, she'd probably use her puppy dog eyes to get her to wear each and every thing she bought for her.

Marron emerged from the stall and placed the blouses and pants into a handheld basket and made her way out of the changing area. Bra awaited her, arms overflowing with tops, sweaters, t-shirts, dresses, jackets, coats... everything maternity-wise that she hadn't been thinking of getting today.

"I got you a preggo swimsuit, too," Bra all but squealed from behind the load in her arms, "it's specially altered to fit you even when you get to your ninth month of pregnancy."

"When am I supposed to be swimming? It'll be Winter soon, Blue."

"I have an indoor heated pool, missy, we can have Winter pool party or something, you never know," the saiyan Princess responded, "come on, let's get this to the register so we can pay and head back to Pan's. I know you're probably tired."

"A bit, not much," Marron responded, eyeing several capsules in Bra's purse, "you already bought some other things, didn't you?"

"Nothing much," the bluenette spoke jovially, "honest, I kept it simple. I just got a few sets of gender neutral baby clothes, towels, hats, and blankets from the baby store across the way, and some special pillows you might need when you get further along for sleeping and stuff from the furniture store further down."

"You did all of that, and picked out this massive amount of clothing while I was trying on the pants?" the blonde teen looked awed, "that's impressive, B."

"I tend to do some pretty amazing things when the mall is involved," the girls came to a stop in front of the register and Bra dumped her load on the counter, "that'll be credit, and charge it to my brother's company credit card." The Princess pulled said credit card out of her wallet and handed it over to the bewildered cashier.

"How'd you get Trunks's company credit card?"

"That moron doesn't keep a good eye on his wallet, that's how. I also have his personal unlimited card, too." Bra grinned widely, "I always put them back when I'm finished with them, and the idiot never notices."

"If he gets the bill, I'm pretty sure he does notice, B," Marron chortled, "unless he opted out of receiving the bill and has it paid directly from his bank account."

"Precisely," Bra cackled, "he'll never know the difference, and he's not going to miss a couple of hundred thousand zeni disappearing every other week, considering the fact that he's got a thirty-something figure account on his hands."

"I thought you had your own credit card..."

"Mom didn't get me the palladium unlimited card because she knew I'd go nuts," the bluenette pouted, "my card is only a titanium standard."

"_T-titanium standard_?" The young Chestnut was bewildered, "you have a freaking _titanium standard_ card and that's not enough?"

"Not for _me_," Bra waved a hand dismissively, "my mother doesn't call me Super Shopping Queen/Kami/Guru for nothing. Come on," she encapsulated the bags, "lets head over to Mount Paozu."

*Mount Paozu*

When Bra and Marron arrived at the 409 Mountain Area home of the Sons, Pan had just arrived home from a refreshing sparring session with Trunks and Goten. The weary girl alighted on the front lawn of her home, the platinum blonde of her Super Saiyan transformation leaching out of her locks as their original ebony bled out from her roots, accompanied by the new blue-black dye job she'd gotten on the tips. Bulma had created the dye especially so it wouldn't show through her SSJ transformation and so it wouldn't dissipate from said transformation.

"Hey, guys," Pan waved one fingerless gloved hand at her friends as they pulled up, "shopping was fun, I hope." She then laced her fingers together behind her neck, striking a pose that her Grandfather, Uncle, and father had all but trademarked, waiting for the two girls to emerge from the air car.

"It was okay," Marron let herself out, holding her box of leftover pizza, "Bra didn't go overly overboard this time."

"Wow, that's a surprise," the Son snickered, "there's hope for you and your nonexistent restraint yet, eh Bra?"

"Oh, now I wish you were there," Bra retorted, grinning evilly, "if Marron wasn't in a fragile state, I would've made sure we stayed until closing if you'd come along."

"Bite me, Blue Wonder." Pan shot back, and the Briefs snapped her teeth at her teasingly, "when, where, and how much of a mark am I allowed to leave?"

"You couldn't leave a mark on me if you tried your very best, missy," the daughter of Gohan smiled sweetly, "come on, you two, I've got to shower, and then we can watch a movie or something."

"Or we could finish our meager amount of homework and _then_ watch a movie or something," Marron corrected, "I know, we're ahead of everyone else by eons, but that's no excuse to crap out on homework. Besides, we've only got Trig homework. Trig is easy."

"Alright, then," Pan rolled her eyes, "shower, homework, and _then_ a movie. Mama Bear has spoken."

*later*

"Aw, Bra, these are so cute," Marron held up a small, pale yellow baby grow with the words '_I am loved_' monogrammed onto the front in spring green curly lettering, "thank you."

"Yeah," Pan held up a white baby grow with the words '_my Auntie Pan loves me_' printed in pale red block lettering, "you did a pretty good job. How'd you find all of these?"

"They had a monogrammer on site," Bra explained, folding some of the tiny t-shirts, "all I had to do was pick out the message, the color of the letters, and the style of the letters. See?" She held up a pale blue shirt with the words '_My Auntie Bra spoils me rotten_' written in navy blue curly lettering, accented by small shopping bags on each side of the message.

"That's a boy shirt, B," Marron snickered, "I don't even know what I'm having yet."

"Yeah, I know, there's a pink one and a lavender one in there somewhere, too," the bluenette shrugged, "I couldn't resist the temptation. When are you going to find that out, by the way?"

"My next appointment is November 3rd," the blonde girl smiled, "you guys are welcome to come along if you want."

"I have an idea for cataloging your pregnancy, week by week," Pan piped up, "I know, we've already missed the first two and half months, but I figured we could take pictures of your belly at the end of every week and maybe write the size of your stomach and the week number on your belly with a washable marker. That would be cute, wouldn't it?"

"Pan, I didn't know you had that sort of inspiration in you," Bra giggled, "that sounds like a great idea. We could use random colors until we find out what she's having, and then switch to the corresponding color scheme when we do."

"And we could add the size of the baby at that time," Marron poked in, "if we put the pictures in a scrap book, we could document all of that stuff."

"Perfect, we can get a scrap book and markers later," the bluenette poked her pregnant friend, "how many weeks along are you?"

"About fifteen if I'm adding it up correctly, maybe fourteen, there are two more weeks until November, and I got pregnant at the end of July..." Marron trailed off, "it was the twenty-eighth when we... we did it, and it takes a few days for implantation to occur. I need to ask Dr. Christie the next time I see her."

"Alright, well, we need to get to bed if we're going to be human in the morning, Maz," Pan yawned softly, "the bathroom's free for you, and I'm already showered, so you can take all the time you need. I'm beat. Bra," she smiled at Bra sweetly, "hon, I love you, but either you go home or just spend the night."

"Do I have a set of clean clothes over here?" the bluenette queried, sliding off of the bed to check in Pan's closet. The Son snorted, "_a set_? Blue, you have _several_ sets. Check the back of my closet."

"I'm going to go shower then," Marron got off of the bed and went to Pan's bureau to paw through the drawer with her things in it, "Bra, did you get maternity pajamas?"

"I'm nothing if not thorough," Bra responded from somewhere in Pan's walk-in closet, "they're in the capsule with the purple stripes."

_Oh, Blue, how I love you..._

*early the next day*

"Uh, Mom?" Uub peeked anxiously into the kitchen at his mother, who was occupied at the stove. The small woman brushed a few cocoa brown strands out of her face and looked at her eldest son with bright hazel eyes, "what's wrong, Uub?"

"I... I really need to talk to you and Dad about something... something important," the Majuubi cringed at his words, "it has to do with what's been going with me... and you're not going to like it."

"Sit down," Koulu gestured to the kitchen table, "your father's helping with something down at the center of the village, so you'll just have to talk to me. My sweet boy," the worried mother of five crossed the kitchen to brush her hand against her eldest son's face, "you've had me so worried. I haven't seen you like this since you were a little boy..."

"I wish it was that simple, Mom," Uub uttered, dropping his gaze ashamedly, "I really do."

"Come on, have a seat," Koulu sat down at the table, "Mailo, Tai, Uri, and Koi don't have to be up for school for an hour or so."

**(A/N: Tai, short for Taiten, and Uri, short for Uriah, are boys, Mailo and Koi, short for Koia, are girls.)**

Uub numbly took a seat and looked across the table at his mother, taking in her worried, concerned expression sadly. The moment she found out about what he'd done to Marron, he knew that her concern and worry would transform into disappointment and anger, maybe even disbelief. He was her golden boy, for him to do wrong was complete and utter blasphemy in her eyes.

"Tell me, Uub," Koulu grasped one of his hands in both of hers and began rubbing it soothingly, "whatever it is, you know I'm here for you."

"I've been in a... in a weird mood because things between Marron and I, well, things have changed," the former Majin bit down on the inside of his bottom lip, "we did something stupid, and now things are... they're different. We're not dating anymore, I spoke to her the other day and she was so angry."

"Something stupid?" Koulu latched onto that tidbit and her expression morphed into, as her son had predicted, disappointed disbelief, "Uub, don't tell me you and Marron..." At his nod, she shook her head, "she's pregnant isn't she? Uub, she's only seventeen... she's got her last year of high school ahead of her, and now to add a child on top of that... the poor girl."

"Mom, I broke up with her because of the baby," Uub spoke slowly and clearly, "I just... it was so much... I didn't know how to react when she told me, so I just... I said some things that came out wrong, she didn't take it well, and now..."

"You abandoned her when she needed you most?" Koulu's hazel eyes were bright and filled with tears, but her face was set in an expression of intense anger, "I raised you better."

"Mom-"

"I'm not going to pretend like you're completely at fault here, Uub, but... you've been like this for nearly two whole months," she rationed, "surely it couldn't have taken that long to think about things and get your head on straight. What about Marron? Is she keeping the baby?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then you need to step up," Koulu murmured, "the road of child bearing is difficult and treacherous, even with the one you love by your side. That poor thing's doing this alone. Uub, I know you're confused and shocked, but you love her, don't you?"

"Yes, mom."

"You wanted to marry her and have children with her one day, I know because you told me so yourself," a very small hint of amusement graced the Majuubi matriach's face, "well, one day has come, sweet heart. The circumstances might not be the way you imagined them to be, but here it is. Don't let her slip through your fingers because of fear or confusion. That child is your love for one another, combined in a tiny, living, breathing form made from the best and worst of you both. It's a beautiful thing, and it should be cherished."

"I'm very disappointed in you, but... it's happened and there's nothing I can do to change that, so the best I can do is make sure you go about this in the right way," Koulo smiled wanly at her son, "Marron's one in a million, baby, and I'm not so old to where I can't tell when two people are just made for one another. If you don't snap that sweet little thing up soon, someone will, and I don't want to see what'll become of you if things don't go right. Has she told her parents about the baby?"

"Yeah, she did," Uub flinched, "they didn't take it too well, she's staying with Master Goku's son, Gohan, right now."

"She's a teenager and you're barely out of your adolescence," his mother frowned, "hormones do tend to hinder proper decision making, don't they? I'm not excusing what you two got up to, but her parents should at least give her the benefit of the doubt. The poor angel's got enough to deal with as it is, without having her parents' antics thrown on top."

"Mom, I don't... I don't know if I can be a good enough father to our child," the former Majin admitted sadly, "I'm scared that I'll screw this all up, and Marron wouldn't want-"

"Why don't you start with just being a father, Uub?" his mother questioned wryly, "how can you know whether or not you'll be good enough if you haven't even bothered to try? You spoke to her yesterday, didn't you?"

"And I screwed up royally, she was angry, and Pan punched me in the face," he grumbled, "not very productive..."

"Give her some time to cool off, get everything you want to say to her in order beforehand, and then try again," Koulu said firmly, "I know you get in too deep too fast and you start floundering for proper footing, you're like your father that way," she smiled in amusement, "but if you think it'll happen again, plan ahead and get your thoughts in order."

"Alright, Mom," Uub nodded, and then, looking apologetic, "Mom, I'm so sorry about-"

"I know you didn't mean for this to happen, but we're only human," Koulu shrugged, "the best you can do is go with the flow and take the challenges life throws your way head on."

"I know," he smiled wanly, "I'm still sorry, though. I should've known better."

"That, you are completely right about," his mother grinned, "I love you, and I support you a hundred percent. Bring Marron by when you patch things up with her, alright? I want to make sure she's handling this alright."

"Don't you mean _if_?"

"I know what I said," Koulu responded cheekily, "don't you go out and meditate at this hour?"

"Actually... I should be getting to work," Uub smiled, glancing at his wrist watch, "I've been flooding Goten with my classes, and it's about time that I got myself together and stopped taking his charity for granted."

"It's a step in the right direction." the Majuubi matriarch squeezed her son's hand lovingly, "I know you can handle this, Uub, you've got what it takes to be an amazing father, but you've got to see it for yourself first."

* * *

><p><strong>Very maternal chapter this one was, huh? I've been super busy getting my stuff together for school in January and... OH MY GOD, I START CULINARY SCHOOL ON JANUARY 12TH! *incoherent squealing* I know I'm probably not going to have much time to update once I get into school, but, if I'm not too busy this month, I'll try to go on an update spree. There are still some final details that need taking care of, so I can't promise you anything.<strong>

**Here is a preview of things to come:**

* * *

><p><em>"Well, well, well... if it isn't our resident Juno," Maori's annoying, nasally drawl met Marron's ears, and she felt her stomach drop to her feet in horror, "yep, we know all about the bun in the oven. How sad," she tsked mockingly, "and just when we thought that there was absolutely nothing that could be done to bring the Golden Trio down."<em>

_"Why don't you shut the fuck up, Maori?" Pan demanded, "why the fuck are you always so obsessed with trying to ruin our lives? What the hell have we ever done to you?"_

_"All the things we've done happened only because you did something to warrant it, and never the opposite," Bra sneered, "from the moment we first started attending the same school, you've had it out for us, and for what? Because we existed? Or how about because we weren't anything like the stereotypical heiress that just so happens to attend public school? How about because we don't sully ourselves by being in the presence of you and your fellow cheer whores?"_

_"Obviously, you've been hanging with whores, considering your little blonde friend there is preggo," Maori cackled, "so, no, you're not as high and mighty as you come off to be. You're normal, just like us."_

_"Since when does having money make anyone different from everyone else?" Bra spat, "when the hell did we ever claim that, because we're filthy rich, we're something other than ordinary human beings?"_

_"The way you walk around here like you're too good to be around the likes of us," the head cheerleader snapped, "the way you three have this little bubble around you that none of us can intrude on, lest we get our heads bitten off by you and your pet dragon over there," she waved a hand at Pan, "so you can see how this whole fiasco with your little whore friend there is refreshing for the rest of us normal people."_

_"Oh boo hoo, I'm knocked up, now everyone's going to make fun of me," Marron's temper flared to life, and both of her friends looked at her in bewilderment as she hitched her rucksack up on her shoulder and sashayed past Maori, who looked equally as bewildered as Pan and Bra, "but at least I was brave enough to carry my child instead of running off to some small town clinic in the country and getting an abortion."_

_The whispers passing between the observing students around the four girls went deathly silent, so silent that a pin drop would be blasphemously audible.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Fireworks will be coming soon! Very soon!<strong>

**~_CloudSpires1295_~**


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